“Only fear the Lord and serve Him faithfully with all your heart;”
1 Samuel 12:24
Now before you see this post as a desperate plea for socks… we have plenty, but thank you for thinking of us 😉
This has been on my mind for the past few weeks and quite frankly it is something that I wrestle in my mind with almost every day. When my thoughts are clouded, my actions are affected. The more my actions are affected, the more I change. The more I change, the more I can become paralyzed to the initial clouded thought.
Since having our daughter Carmen (just over 2 months ago!! Whoa!!) I’ve had the privilege of picking out her cute outfits everyday and deciding what her current style and apparel will be. Granted, most of her wardrobe has been graciously given to us which has been a huge blessing. But while I pick out her clothes each day, i’ve come to realize that like my own preference, I don’t like to put socks on Carmen either.
Now before you start judging my ability to clothe my child, let me explain…
I love to see her tiny little toes!! They are much sweeter than the socks covering them. Plus, tiny little socks like to come off and get misplaced everywhere 😉
If I do take her out and know that her little toes will be exposed to something that is cold, of course I put socks on her…
One day I found myself putting socks on her not for that reason but for the reason of pleasing people. Say what!!?? Socks?? Yup.
I’m a new mom. I’m not totally confident in what i’m doing just yet in nurturing and caring for her but I do LOVE learning from other moms! Now that doesn’t mean I take and apply all of the advice given (because if I did, I would end up with a crazy child.. let’s just be real..) but one thing i’ve learned already is that you cannot please every one.
I haven’t had too many comments yet on why she does’t where socks all the time but when I do get the, “her feet must be freezing!” and “Why don’t you cover up those little toes, it’s cold out!” comments that I kindly reply a smile to. When I realized that I started doing things because of what other people would say or think, I quickly was reminded that fearing man is a quick and slippery slope.
So pardon my silly illustration of Carmen’s socks and explore the deeper meaning for a minute. How many times in the run of a day do you do things for the sole reason (see what I did there) of pleasing someone else? You are letting someone else control your life! And this my friend is very exhausting.
How often do we find that in God’s word He commands us to fear Him, revere Him, and follow hard after Him alone. Not people’s comments. Not others preferences.
The fear of God, having an awe and respect for Him is to be our main motivation for everything we do. When we are acting, thinking, and living in a fear of anything else, we are missing God’s best for us!
Deuteronomy 10:12, 20-21 records, “And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Fear the LORD your God and serve him. Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name. He is your praise; he is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes.”
There is such rich truth in these verses. Beautiful commands.
What would it look like to fully live this out? I guess it would mean that I wouldn’t always put socks on my little girl. It would mean that I would step out in faith more often. It would mean that I share the gospel more often. It would mean that I treat others how I would want to be treated with love and grace. It would mean that I call those that I love out when they are choosing to sin. It would be that I daily surrender to God’s will over my will as I actively choose to die to myself.
Choosing to fear God, to please Him instead of others changes everything. Who are you really living for?
Grateful for these “little” daily reminders.
youhavecalledmehigher 