Dwelling

I am dwelling.

A few weeks ago, I felt strongly led by God to go back and complete the tasks that he had put on my heart over the past year and a half.  He even told me that I shouldn't continue my current Bible study (Created for Purpose written by Tara Furman) until I have been obedient.

The list to obey was not that long...but the time it has taken to be obedient has turned into weeks..

In this "dwelling," I am not sitting back waiting for God.  He has been with me every step of the way.  He is actually leading me through the sins and issues that I need to work out.  I'm told it is a sign of spiritual maturity to dwell here...I don't bring this up to emphasize how mature I am now that I am dwelling, but to illustrate that as I moved on with life without stopping to obey God, I was an immature spiritual teenager, ignoring my loving Father's requests because I didn't think they were as important as what I had on my agenda for the day.  This was a realization that went straight to my good-Bible-study-girl heart...the one that puts getting the Bible study done ahead of Jesus himself (He should be my priority!).

I see now that I should have been "dwelling" after each prompting from God...working through it until the task was complete.  You see, I heard Him...I even wrote the messages down...but I was a "hearer" and not a "doer" on many of His commands.  But in Romans 2:13, Paul reminds us that "It is not those who hear the law who are just in the sight of God; rather those who observe the law will be justified."

God wants me to dwell in His Word, until He sees that I am ready to move on.  In these past few weeks, I have reflected on how my spiritual walk has evolved, and shared it with those closest to me (this was the hardest).  I have studied obedience in scripture (and still studying, there is more than you could imagine).  I have carefully read the book of Job (taking notes, because it can be a tough one).  I have meditated on worship songs in my Jesus time (so calming and inspirational).  I have purged two time-wasting activities from my life (yes, one of them was Candy Crush Saga).  And I am working on letting go of a few specific negative attitudes (it's progressing).

Please don't think this is a bragging list...it is not...it is a list of how GOD is working in my life!

God has led me each day to tackle one of His commands (personal commands revealed to me in my prayer time, not the big 10 found in Exodus, although many of those personal commands have their roots in those written on the stone tablets).  And they have all taken multiple days.  Yes, it has been a time commitment.  Yes, I have had to change my thinking and attitudes.  And yes, I have been humbled, over and over.

But it is so worth it!  God has promised many blessings on those who are obedient to His Word - both what is written in scripture and what we hear from Him personally in our quiet time.  One of these examples is in Jeremiah 7:23 "Listen to my voice and you shall be my people.  Walk in all the ways I command you, so that you may prosper."  Did you notice the word "all"?  Reread it with emphasis on "all."  Does it change your perspective?  It changed mine.

I so badly want to finish my study mentioned above on purpose, but God continues to tell me no, that I must be completely obedient first.  I realized that I have to dwell where I am, completing ALL that God has put in front of me, before I can move on.  Where will I move?

Chris Tomlin wrote a song called "I Will Follow."  It begins:

Where you go, I'll go
Where you stay, I'll stay
When you move, I'll move
I will follow...

Where will I move next?  I just have to wait until God shows me, so that I can follow.  But for now, I am dwelling.