Heart Check #105: Now Is The Time

On the last day of September in 2020 the Holy Spirit spoke to me at 4am in the morning and said: Now Is The Time 

Like many of you may be thinking as I was thinking that morning exactly what does Now Is The Time mean?

Now Is The Time is a loaded statement and can represent a plethora of things: 

Now Is The Time to Focus

Now Is The Time to Complete that Assignment

Now Is The Time to Write That Book

Now Is The Time to Start That Company

Now Is The Time to get out of the Boat

Now is the Time to be Uncomfortable

Now is the Time to make a stand even if it appears you are standing alone

Now is the Time to come from behind the scenes 

Now is the Time to walk into the unfamiliar, the unknown 

But most of us Now Is the Time To Obey

On the day before I heard this statement, I was standing in line to purchase a food item and the woman in front of me had her cell phone in her back pocket. The cell phone was upside down but just enough for me to see on the back of her phone cover the word OBEY.

Obedience is a heart matter!!!

Do you know when we obey it is really for our good and it is always for His glory?

Our obedience allows for the Lord to use us in ways we haven’t been used before.  

Our obedience keeps us dependent on Him but most of all obedience captures our Father’s heart. How willing or I will go a step further how surrender are you to fully obey? What has delayed obedience cost you? Has it cost you your focus, your identity, your peace, your time, or something on a much deeper and greater level has it cost you your ability to know God? 

One of the greatest gifts we can experience is God revealing Himself to us. 

My first point of emphasis with obedience is:  

In our obedience God reveals Himself

In 1 Samuel 3:1-10, Samuel had yet known the Lord because The Lord hadn’t yet revealed Himself to him as verse seven states. We gain access to know, to commune with God on a deeper level when we obey.

I am avid sports connoisseur but there is one sport that is dear to my heart and that is professional basketball. The game of basketball is played in an arena. There are a variety of seating options available to a fan.You have the balcony seats. You may have to look at the Jumbotron to really see the game but hey you just happy to be in the building. Than you have second level seats these seats are better than the balcony seats but at times you may have to catch some of the action on the Jumbotron as well.Than you have first level seats. These seats should provide you with a clear picture of the action on the court without looking at the Jumbotron because on the first level the Jumbotron is generally above you so you would have to keep looking up which may result in missing some of the action.  

But oh boy oh boy there is a level that’s called court side seats. A person sitting court side gets a vantage point that a person in the balcony, the person in the second level, and even the person in the first level seats wouldn’t get. Sitting court side grants access to seeing the action with the players up close and at times throughout the game a person sitting court side may have a face to face encounter or interaction with a player but there is another type of court side action that basketball couldn’t even rival and that is court side seats with our Lord and the way we get access to that seating, access to that vantage point, access to that face to face intimacy is through our obedience. We get a court side view of God when we obey.

This leads me to the second point of emphasis with obedience is:

Obedience unlocks the supernatural or better yet Obedience is a Superpower

Miracles, signs, and wonders are birthed out of our obedience. A lot of us have been waiting or are waiting to see miracles, signs, and wonders instead of being a miracle, sign, and wonder for others to see and experience. Obedience is the key that unlocks are ability to be this. Obedience seemingly always precedes a miracle.

Let’s take Exodus 14 for an example. We have the Red Sea. We are probably familiar with the story of the Red Sea. You have the children of Israel fleeing Egypt and in there quest for freedom bondage was in hot pursuit of them. Pharaoh and his army were coming to get them. The Children of Israel had to leave what was comfortable. They were comfortable in Egypt and had resigned to the fact that this was their lot in life. Venturing out to the unknown was scary but in order to witness and take part in a miracle, they had to leave, they had to get going. In their obedience to follow Moses and leave what was familiar they were apart of one of the greatest water miracles ever. 

Let’s take Matthew 14:22-33, Peter Walking On Water. Peter had to get out of the boat y’all to experience the miracle of walking on water. Peter couldn’t say Lord come pick me up and hold my hand while we walk together on water. No! Jesus said come and Peter obeyed and came. The other disciples witnessed two miracles on that day. Jesus walking on water and their boy Peter walking on water. We know Brother Peter faltered and became afraid of the strength of the wind and took His eyes off of Jesus but that doesn’t negate the fact that Peter obeyed and got out of the boat. Even with a little faith coupled with our obedience we can still experience a miracle.   

So let me talk to you: 

Who is at a juncture in their life where it is time to get out of the boat? Do you realize that God will meet you when you get out of the boat? Even if you are like Peter and become afraid, Do you not know that God will be with you? 

It is not Lord show me a miracle and then I will obey but it is to obey and watch the Lord give you a court side seat, court side view to a miracle. All of these miracles, obedience was the precursor. 

The third point of emphasis with obedience is:

Your obedience is more powerful than your sight 

How many of us have disobeyed because what we saw override what we heard? 

In Judges 7:2-8, Gideon defeating a large army of Midianites with only 300 hundred men. Gideon had to be obedient in decreasing his troops from 22,000 to 10,000 to 300 and that is why Obedience is more powerful than sight. 

Gideon could have easily walked by his sight and started to take inventory of his troops and the troops of his enemy. But Gideon obey and out of his obedience the Midianites started to attack one another. Gideon and his troops of 300 didn’t even have to do battle. Obedience was their weapon. 

So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal according to 2 Corinthians 4:18 and right around the corner in 2 Corinthians 5:7 For we walk by faith and not by sight. 

The fourth and last point of emphasis with obedience is:

Obedience generally doesn’t make sense 

I believe this reason is a major hurdle for people because obedience is not logical at times. We are wired to want things to make sense in our finite mind. The last time I checked miracles don’t make sense. The Lord is wanting you and I to get out of logic and to get into His presence. If we just understand that the God who made the heavens and earth and set the moon and sun in place, that when He asks us to do something it would be in our best interest to just do it because obedience is not logical but it is an adventure, it is invitation to living a life of faith and we must remember it is impossible to please Him without faith.

Isaiah 55:8-9 reminds us of why we can’t live by the logic of our minds: For my thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not my ways. This is the Lord’s declaration. For as heaven is higher than earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. 

That’s why it is crucial to obey quickly because if not we start to ponder, we start to ruminate, we start listening to other voices, we start trying to make sense out of something that doesn’t make sense and before we know it we have walked ourselves into disobedience. Let’s position ourselves to not just have one encounter but an ongoing encounter with our Lord and Savior Jesus who is the Christ and our obedience is that key. 

Remember Heart Care is Mind Care!!!

Let’s pray: Lord I pray our feet start to move in the direction of obedience. I pray that any pending instructions from you we have avoided, ignored, or even forgotten would be brought to the fore front of our hearts and minds and on today we will choose to obey. You are after our yes. So Let’s surrender and say yes. Yes to your will, yes to your way, yes we will obey. When we obey have no doubt that You will show up, You will show out, but most of all You will show Yourself to us. It is privilege to have a God who loves us so much, that cares for us so much to remind us that obedience is definitely better than sacrifice. In the matchless name of our Lord and Savior Jesus who is The Christ. We give it a Yes and we definitely give it an Amen. 

| Heart Check with Niña Tené