“For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.”- 1 John 5:3 (ESV)
We sing about the love of God, we shower Him with worship and adoration and we tell Him how much we love Him, and I really think we do in the capacity of how we know how to love God. But, the test of our love for God is obedience. Just simply obeying God. I was telling the Lord how much I loved Him, and His response to me was “then obey me.” It was so loud and clear, it was like He was literally right beside me. I got this response twice. I kept thinking about why I was getting that response, then He revealed the reason to me.
A few weeks ago, I sat in my vehicle and I prayed because I was trying to figure something out, and before I could even exit the vehicle, the Lord answered by giving me a solution. I called my husband and we spoke about the problem and He was already in agreement with the Lord, and my husband’s answer was actually confirmation. I was excited. We followed the Lord’s direction, but I did not keep my vow to the Lord. I was so convicted and I had to repent. I was disobedient. I didn’t do what I said I was going to do.
I remembered a few weeks before that I was reading the Bible, and I read the story about Jephthah, and immediately the Spirit of the Lord reminded me about Jephthah’s vow and how, even though it was a hard vow to keep, he kept it. In Judges 11, Jephthah was a warrior, and he was chosen to be the head over the inhabitants of Gilead. When Jephthah was going out to battle the Ammonites, he made a vow to the Lord. He told the Lord that if the Lord gave him victory over the Ammonites, whatever came out of the doors of his house to meet him when he returned would be the Lord’s. The Lord gave Jephthah victory, and when Jephthah returned home, his daughter, his ONLY child, came out to meet him. Jephthah was overwhelmed with emotions, and what’s also so interesting was that his daughter encouraged him to keep his vow to the Lord. When I read the story of Jephthah, even though I had read it before, it stood out to me in a different way that I can’t even explain with words. I felt his sorrow, and I understood how important it is to keep the vows we make to the Lord. Don’t make vows to the Lord if we know that we aren’t able to keep them.
The Lord is kind and so gracious to us, more than we deserve. Yet, we disobey His word. We make promises to Him and don’t keep them, and we go about our everyday lives as if it’s okay. I felt how much I had grieved the Holy Spirit. I was so disappointed in myself. The Lord had looked down on me with favor, and I was disobedient. Daughters of Fire, to love the Lord is to obey Him. If we disobey Him, then we don’t love Him. It may sound hard or unfair, but God gave us His ONLY Son to save us from our sins, and He doesn’t ask us to do anything that He knows we aren’t able to do. Daughters of Fire, before we make a vow to the Lord, ask Him first for the grace to keep the vow, to keep the promise, to walk before Him blameless. I believe that we have entered a time where we have to get really serious about our walk with God. The days are flying by; yesterday was January, and today it’s May. There is tragedy after tragedy, and the only one who can give peace and comfort in these times of trouble is the Lord. Remember how holy He is, how much He loves us, and all He requires from us is obedience.
Daughters of Fire, if there was ever a time to search our hearts, it’s now. If there was ever a time to guard our hearts, it’s now. The Lord is watching over the very words we speak, so be careful, little lips, what you say, what you promise. Don’t make promises that you can’t keep. Daughters of Fire, my prayer is for us to please the Lord in every area of our lives, in what we say when no one is around, and what we do when no one else sees us. Our character and our integrity matter to our Heavenly Father. I know that we want Him to keep His promises to us, His covenant with us as His children, so we should do the same. Father, may you grant us the grace we need to walk before you blameless. Keep our hearts pure, May our lips praise You, and may our hands diligently do the work You have called us to do. We want to please You Lord and it’s not easy, grant us the extra measure of grace we need to do so. We love You and thank You for convicting us of our sins so that we can repent. Thank You Father for the mercy of another day to please You and walk before you diligently. We don’t know where we would be without You, we don’t even want to think about where we would be without You, and we bless You, for You alone are worthy. Teach us Your Daughters, to obey You and love You like Your Son Jesus, our Lord and Redeemer, in Jesus Name, Amen.
Daughter Of Fire 