(Editor's Note: This is a continuation from Katie's letter that began yesterday - if you have not read it already, I encourage you to take the time to read and be encouraged)
Dear Sisters,
I realize that obedience sounds so simple, but I think that
because it is so simple, that we often overlook it. The Lord commands us as
daughters in our fathers/parents house, to “Honor our father and our mother”
(Exodus 20:12) (Matthew 19:19) (Ephesians 6:2) and to “obey our parents in all
things for this is well pleasing unto the Lord” (Colossians 3:20) and to “obey
our parents in all things for this is right!” (Ephesians 6:1) And surely, this
is not news to any of you. But the Lord has also given you your mom, your dad,
(or perhaps your Grandma and/or Grandpa) to guide you in His will.
Recently, I have gone through some very difficult lessons
spiritually. I had talked with my parents (separately) about them and they
tried to counsel me the best they knew how, by the grace of God. In fact, they
both gave me, in a nutshell, the same advice. But I didn’t heed it. I didn’t
obey it. I thought, no, I can’t do that! I’m sure that God wants me to do this
certain thing, so I can’t do this certain thing my parents are saying. I wasn’t
necessarily trying to be rebellious, but I just didn’t think that my parents
were right about this. I thought God wanted me to do something, and because my
parents were counseling me in a different direction than I thought the Lord
wanted me to go, I just disregarded what they were saying concerning this
point. Well, it finally all came to a head Friday night. They were in their
room watching TV together, and I went in and sat down at the foot of their bed.
I started to cry. I was so depressed and discouraged about this particular
thing, and I wanted to know if they would pray for me. What should I do, I
asked them? My mom seemed to defer to my dad, and my dad closed his eyes and
was silent for a moment. In that moment, I prayed for God to give my daddy
wisdom (to give to me! ). When he finally spoke, my father said, “Well, I think
you should do what I told you to the first, and second, third, fourth time we
talked about this!” He got off the bed to grab a hanky, and I had no clue what
he was talking about. When he laid back down, however, he told me what he
meant. My mom said that she had been telling that to me as well. They had both
been giving me the same advice independently of each other, without knowing it,
but because I thought God’s will was different, not as simple, I wasn’t
listening.
Soon afterward it hit me: if I obeyed what my father and
mother had advised me to do, I was obeying God! I was within and following His
will for me and my life at this appointed time!!!
Oh dear sister, please don’t miss this!!!!! If you are still
at home, living in your parent’s house, God has lovingly placed you under their
authority! And even if it doesn’t make sense to you at the time, it is His will
that you obey them and submit yourself to them! (Unless they are blatantly
asking you to sin) You are under the protective umbrella of their authority. I
know from personal experience and long for every young woman to understand that
this is seriously the safest place for you to be! In submission to your God
given authority! If what you do in submission to them isn’t necessarily
“right”, God does not hold you accountable and in fact you are blessed for your
unflinching obedience to them! (This lesson is shown in Sarah’s obedience to
Abraham in
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| Photography by Amanda T. |
Genesis 12 and 20 even though he asked her to lie, God
protected her because she obeyed and submitted to her husband’s authority) It
grieves me to hear young people say “oh I can’t wait to get out of here”
(referring to their homes and living with their families) “because once I’m on my
own I can do whatever I want to do”. I’ve even… actually mostly… heard this
from Christian young people. The blessings they will be missing are so huge!
Please don’t make the same mistake I did. Don’t miss the blessings
and peace that come from the simplicity that is in Christ, by being caught up
with the complexities of the Christian life, or by making your walk with Christ
so much more complicated than it has to be! Do as Ruth did and simply be
submissive! Obey your parents! Defer your will to theirs! Even if it seems as though God is
perhaps calling you in a different direction, it is His will for you to obey
your parents. To do as they suggest. It is His direction for you to submit to
their authority in your life. Just as Ruth submitted without complaint or
question to Naomi’s seemingly wrong instruction (Ruth 3:1-6) and to Boaz’s gentle requests, let us submit to
the authority that the Lord has placed in our lives!
Let us follow Ruth’s sterling example to submissive
obedience! (Even Esther is a fantastic example to us of submission to
authority! She was obedient to Mordecai even when she was out from under his
authority! See
Ester 2:20) Being submissive does not come without it’s
blessings!!! As a result of Ruth’s obedience to both Naomi and to Boaz, the
Lord blessed her with a wealthy, Godly husband who loved her, a precious son,
and the position of great, great grandmother to one of the most Godly men that
have ever lived! She stands as a shining light, and encouragement to women
centuries later—to you and to me! —Simply because she OBEYED and was
SUBMISSIVE! (These are both big “no-no” words in our culture today, you
understand. You are not going to receive this message anywhere other than the
Word of God—perhaps not even from the pulpit ) But the Lord promises blessings
to those who obey! And He gives them!
I know this seems like such a simple message, but the peace
and blessings that come by heeding it are gigantic! Please, dear sister, strive
to obey and be submissive to the authority that the Lord has placed in your
life! Ask God to help you see when perhaps you are doing your own thing instead
of being obedient when you should (like I said, I wasn’t trying to be
rebellious! I wasn’t trying to buck my parents’ authority. I simply thought God
had other plans!) Don’t fail to realize (as I did) that obeying your parents,
as simple as it seems, is God’s plan for you at this point in your life. It may
be staying home from college to help out at home. It may be working a job you
don’t want to. It may be leaving off what seems to be a good, even a Godly
thing, for a/this season of your life. Don’t let Satan fool you! Obeying your
parents, in the Lord, because it is good, is good and does bring blessings to
you and to others! If Ruth hadn’t obeyed Naomi, she never would’ve married
Boaz! Maybe what God wants you to do is to simply “sit still” as Naomi
instructs Ruth to do in chapter 3 verse 18.
Please remember, dear sister: God has placed you under your
parents’ authority for this season of your life. He has done it out of wisdom
and out of an intense love for you! Don’t miss the blessings He bestows upon
them that simply obey! Their will is His will for you (unless it is blatant
sin) no matter how weird it may seem at the time. Submit and be blessed, dear
sisters!
Keep pressing on, like Ruth, in the Name of Jesus!
Keep pressing on, like Ruth, in the Name of Jesus!
Katie Hamilton is a 19-year-old young woman, living at home, "feeding her fathers flock" by trying to invest in the lives of her 5 younger siblings and by helping her mom with household chores and home schooling. She desires to have a close relationship with Jesus, her Heavenly Father, Prince, and Captian, and wants to encourage other young women to live for Him and to encourage them in their faith. Her email:katieofsix@gmail.com Her blog: www.hisprincesswarrior.blogspot.com Her Christian writers site she co-leads: www.write4hisglory.webs.com.
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