As Christians, we have been called to be obedient to God in big things and little things, day in and day out, longer than we can do on our own, in our own strength. Living in godly obedience is sometimes hard, but God has anointed and equipped us for the job. We can do whatever we need to do with His help – and not only that, we can learn to do it with smiles on our faces!
For example, maybe you’re at the mall shopping when the Holy Spirit nudges you to pick up the blouse that slid off the hanger onto the floor, even though you weren’t the one who left it there. Or He’ll ask you to give away some material thing that you really love – to someone you don’t even like! At other times, God may ask you to stick with people and situations you’d rather run away from while He finishes His work in you.
A good example of someone who practiced godly obedience in a big way was Dr. Paul Osteen, a respected surgeon and the brother of Joel Osteen, a good friend of Joyce Meyer Ministries. At the age of 12, Dr. Osteen’s father took him on a mission trip to Africa. Even then Dr. Osteen knew he wanted to be a doctor. He vowed that someday he’d return to Africa as a medical missionary. He didn’t know that it would be decades before God would pave the way for him to fulfill that dream.
Dr. Osteen practiced as a surgeon in the United States for 17 years before a gradual dissatisfaction built up inside him. Still, he didn’t act on the feeling, wanting to hear from God. Then his father died, and as the family was driving back from the funeral, Dr. Osteen distinctly heard God tell him to lay down his surgical practice and move to Houston to help out at his brother’s church. He followed God’s call and moved to Houston where he worked for the next six years at a fraction of his previous salary.
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