obedience Archives - Lauren Sparks

“Therefore the law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.” Galatians 3:24 NASB

Even though it’s been over 20 years, I will never forget the first time “because I said so” tumbled out of my mouth.

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My step-son wanted to know why he couldn’t turn the water hose on the trampoline and jump when it was 40 degrees outside. Chandler was (and is) very bright and tended to think he was right much of the time. He would argue his point until one of us was exhausted if I let him. He did not consider “It’s cold outside,” to be a good enough reason and was not satisfied with “you could get sick” or “your clothes will be soaked”. H continued to plead his case until all there was left for me to say was “because I said so”.

I hoped I would never say it. I swore I wouldn’t. It frustrated me to hear it, but I think most parents have uttered those words at one time or another.

God gets to that point with me sometimes. I can be pretty head strong about what I want and what I think is best. God has to not-so-gently remind me that His Word contains His knowledge and wisdom to direct my path. And I have to admit that “because I said so,” can be really hard for me to take – even from the Creator of the Universe. Just look at how counter-cultural His ways are!

Why It Matters

This world is trying it’s hardest to convince us all (and quite successfully in some circles) that God’s Word either doesn’t really say what it says, or that it doesn’t belong in our modern era. And it some ways it would be easier to let ourselves believe that than to fight against the current. Especially when we don’t understand why something is true. But this thinking is leading us into darkness and destruction.

That’s where faith comes in. Isaiah 55:8 says, “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Just as we now understand that our parents knew better than we as little children, so we must trust that our Heavenly Father knows better than we ever will. His laws and ethics have purpose. They aren’t meant to be restrictive but to protect us and bring us closer to Him. Reminding myself of this helps when I don’t understand why He said so.

And now for this week’s featured post from the link up!

It excites me to see more people enjoying the discipline of praying scripture. Genna Stotts for Refining [Spiritual Growth] wrote about her journey in Scripture Praying – Could it Be the Secret to a Healthy Mind?

1. Share 1 or 2 of your most recent CHRISTIAN LIVING posts. (No DIY, crafts, recipes, or inappropriate articles.) All links are randomly sorted.

2. Comment on 1 or 2 other links. Grace & Truth linkup encourages community.

3. Every host features one entry from the previous week. To be featured, include this button or link back here on your post (mandatory to be featured, but not to participate).

We encourage you to follow our hosts on their blogs or social media.

MAREE DEE – Embracing the Unexpected
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LAUREN SPARKS
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LISA BURGESS – Lisa notes
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TAMMY KENNINGTON – Restoring hope. Pursuing peace.
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Today my youngest daughter turns 17. She gets the credit for my current love affair with praying scripture, so I couldn’t help but think of her for today’s Praying God’s Word Wednesday. I had used scripture to pray before (big fan of Stormie O’Martian’s books early in my marriage), but my girl Allie holds the distinction of being the first person I texted a scripture and prayer to.

Now, I weekly text many people I care about with scriptures and prayers. I also pray for me and my immediate family using whatever passage I happen to be reading (from a bible study, sermon notes from Sunday, a book, etc.). But I digress.

When thinking about my girl on the day of her birth, this scripture came to mind:

Behold, children are a ^[a]gift of the Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward. Psalm 127:3 NASB

God gifts and rewards us in many ways. Children are only one of them. And parenting is far from sunshine and rainbows all the time. I have said often, and stand by, that my children are simultaneously the reason for some of my deepest joys and biggest frustrations. But today, when thinking about Allie, the following prayer flowed.

Replace the name and pronouns with the appropriate ones for the person (or yourself) that you are praying for.

Praying for you in this. And don’t forget to share on social media or with a friend who could benefit. It would mean so much to me. And if you don’t want to miss a Praying God’s Word Wednesday, subscribe over on the right hand side of this page.