He wants my heart

The passage from ifequip today was, again, very poignant. The Lord has been encouraging me and giving me the ability to not worry about what others think right now. I'd rather obey God, then men (Acts 5:29). The more confidence I have in my God, the less I care what others think. But, there is still that part of me that wants to convince others that we aren't crazy! That we aren't deceived!  To somehow convince them with my words that this is from God, and make them see His Word the way we see it. But, I know that, that doesn't work. I was there just a few short months ago. I was the one my husband was trying to convince, and I wouldn't hear it. It didn't matter what he said. If I didn't want to believe it, I wasn't going to. But, the Lord was working. I called out to Him and asked Him what is right and what is wrong? Which way do I go on this issue? He didn't answer my specific question. He knew that if He did, I still wouldn't believe. I'd still question the answer and think "is that really what He meant?" He doesn't want my mind. He wants my heart. And so, His answer was simply, "My daughter, obey me." I knew what was very clear in the Word and the things that I knew I was not obeying Him in. As I began to obey Him in those areas that I did know, He began to open up the Word to me and reveal things to me that I'd never seen before. He began to confirm His Word in my heart so that I didn't just think I knew which side of the issue was right, but I knew and believed deep within my heart. He wants me to trust Him fully, and He dug down to the root of my fear and unbelief and planted His Word deep and strong. He could have just given me the answer, but instead gave me belief in Him and confirmed the answer deep within my heart so that I know without a shadow of a doubt that this is from Him.

We still have so many questions, but as my husband and I walk this out, we won't need to convince others with our words because they will be convinced by our fruit. Like this passage in Acts 5 when the apostles were brought before the religious leaders, one of the Pharisees told them not to worry about the apostles and what they were doing in the name of Christ. He said if this is from men, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop them. Basically, they will know if this is from God by their fruit. What an amazing thought! God's plans will not be thwarted no matter who comes against. If God be for us, who can be against us! This is exactly how we feel right now. We are deeper with the Lord than ever before! We are experiencing peace when those around us are all tied up in knots over this! We are hopeful for how God is repositioning us for ministry! We may have lost one ministry, but God doesn't see it that way. He sees it as the next step of the straight path He can see from beginning to end! What a great God we serve! May we continue to be rooted deep down into Him, firm and secure, growing in Grace and knowledge, bringing others to Christ and glory to Him!