What a great way to walk into the 11th day of the Gratitude Challenge 2022! With the word follow.
If you haven’t checked it out yet, you can read more about this original post at The Uncommon Normal. You can even still join in if you’d like!
There’s Only One to Follow
I used to follow all kinds of things, people, and efforts, and not a one of them ever laid down His life for me the way Jesus did! I’ve had best friends, fair-weather friends, and a host of acquaintances. I’ve had jobs, been a manager, and now own my own business. And still, the only thing that matters…
is Him!
He has, without any shadow of a doubt, saved my life and changed with for the better. No question about it. But that only came when I became willing to shut out everything else and obey His Word and personal call to me.
The prodigal daughter.
Prodigal Problems
I “accepted” Jesus when I was a child. Then again, as a teenager. And then again, as a young adult. Then at some point, I just let go.
I didn’t feel like I could do it anymore and thought there was no point in coming back AGAIN, with another promise to try again. It seems like every time I “made up my mind” to “do right,” I always failed!
I was, just like the prodigal son, in a pig stye barely living off their leftover slop!
But you know what?
It didn’t even occur to me to go back and submit myself as a servant. Of course, I had never been taught how to study Scripture, or what it was like to do spiritual warfare in prayer, or to worship Him in the beauty of holiness.
Servant or Daughter?
I love the story of the prodigal and even did a teaching on it on my YouTube channel (which has been dormant for longer than I care to admit, lol).
But I thought it was so interesting that something amazing happened when the long-lost son came home, submitting himself as nothing more than a servant.
Not only did the father, who was waiting and WATCHING for his return, welcome him home with open arms. He reinstated him as a son and threw a lavish party for his homecoming!
You see, when we submit to our Father as a servant, He lifts us so much higher than that! Obedience is better than sacrifice. That has always been a favorite Scripture of mine. And it truly yields a life that is unlike any other.
Another way of looking at it, I took from a Billy Cole sermon from years ago. He said that both servant and son serve. But only the son (or daughter!) has access to relationship, love, and intimacy. A child will serve much differently than a hired servant!
So Thankful to Follow Him!
The change in my life has been tremendous since I decided to follow Him genuinely! I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Not for the world!
When we TRULY follow, it changes everything. And the changes that happen on the inside will eventually find their way outside. It’s a renewal of everything that we know. Everything that we are. Everything that we do. And so on.
If you’re not a Jesus-follower, dig into the Scriptures to see what He has to say to you today. If you come with a genuine heart, He’ll show you where to go from there!