It’s been quite a week: One day off school, two nights out, three weighty conversations with friends wanting more God in their life, four carpools, five workout sessions, plus a leaky faucet, various committee meetings, and more left-over dinners than my family likes! When life feels full of busyness and distractions, it’s refreshing to stumble (definitely a God Stop*) across scripture that speaks directly to my heart:

“And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you
but to fear (revere) the LORD your God, to walk (follow) in obedience to him,
to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul,
and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees…”
Deuteronomy 10:12-13

Moses shared God’s expectations with the Israelites as they were free from Egypt, and they still hold true today. Five simple steps God desires from us: revere, follow, obey, love, and serve. Could we find a closer definition of faithfulness? It seems so straight forward. And if you are like me, these five words are weighty!

How could I incorporate these actions into my day-to-day? Where would I start? Is there a role-model to imitate? I looked to our faithful ancestors to find an example:

• Moses won the lottery of spending time with God and hearing his mighty voice declaring his faithfulness to us! – “And Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him (Moses) and proclaimed his name, the Lord, and he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness…” Exodus 34:5-6
• Abram is 99 when God enters a covenant with him, has him circumcised and changes his name to Abraham. Genesis 17:1-6
• Hannah prayed faithfully year after year for a child, making a vow that she would give that son to the Lord (1 Samuel 1:11). Baby Samuel grew up in training under Eli, was Israel’s last Judge, and appoints Israel’s greatest king, David.
• From Ruth’s devotion to Naomi and her God (Ruth 1:16-18), our Heavenly Father blesses Ruth with wonderful guardian-redeemer – her second husband Boaz (Ruth 4:11-15). Blessing continued as this famous foreigner produces children into the family tree of King David and Jesus! (Matthew 1:5-6)
• Jesus himself will be renamed Faithful and True when he returns (Revelation 19:11-16)

More faithful servants:
Noah (Genesis 6:9-18), Isaac’s wife Rebekah (Genesis 24:12-27), Job (Job 1-42), Virgin Mary’s Song of Praise (Luke 1:46-55), John the Baptist’s mom Elizabeth (Luke 1:41-45), Martha & Mary’s faith brings Lazarus back to life (John 11:32-44), Daniel rescued from the lions (Daniel 6), The Hall of Faith (Hebrews 11).

I was looking for one role-model and quickly found a dozen! I know there are even more faithful men and women in the Bible, giving us examples of respect, reverence, ways to follow, obey, love and serve the Lord. It’s intimidating, but how wonderful it would feel to be on that list!

What will be My Story of faithfulness?

Will I be able to look back and see that I lived a life of reverence and giving the Glory to God? I’m entering the stage where loved-ones are getting unexpected medical diagnosis, children are flexing their independence muscles, and social media is sharing abrupt deaths that hit us to the core. Will I react to these dark valleys, as well as the blessings He provides, with fear and respect, staying strong in my beliefs and giving Him the Glory?

Will following the Great Teacher prompt new areas of my growth and training, like laying healing hands, casting out demons, stretching my ears for prophecy? Will repentance and forgiveness provide deeper discernment and wisdom that lead me on additional paths that aren’t even on my horizon today?

Will my story show a life of obedience, a life that is so attractive, that more friends and acquaintances desire to join the flock of believers? What will be the ripple-effect of this flock, will they change the trajectory of the homelessness, social injustice and provide a fair-chance to the citizens of our cities? Will I receive letters in my old-age sharing how I was silently building spiritual warriors in the moms and kids as they met their Savior through our weekly Bible studies?

Will mine be a Love story with God, not only as his daughter, but his evangelist and his bride? Will I become more comfortable in these roles to boldly ask in prayer for miracles? In the few weeks of writing this blog, I’ve been prompted to Boldly ask for financial benefit, healing of speech, and reparation in marriage, all to occur before July. I wonder if any of these pieces will be a cornerstone of my story or just little moments in a long list of blessings our Lord provides?

Will my faithfulness influence an affluent community’s generosity from afar, via philanthropic events and society pages, or through hands-on serving local orphans, widows and former inmates? Will my gifts be used within current organizations or will He prompt me to start something new?

Just writing these dreams make me smile. I know with God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26). I don’t know which or all of the above the Lord will work within me, but I know I want my paragraphs and chapters to be delightful for others to read. I want future generations to meet a woman who is small but mighty. Whose strength is from faithful perseverance and persistence, not just physically acquired. I want journals upon journals of colorful-penned God Stops*, gifts from asking and listening for my Big Daddy in Heaven. I want intrigue and unconditional love to roll off the pages as He takes me and my family on an adventure. I am confident that the Lord has a plan for me (Jeremiah 29:11) and His plan will be a far more amazing and faithful legacy than I can dream up!

So, what should we do as we wait? Let’s stay faithful and pray boldly to make our desires known.

Pray with me:
Heavenly Father, please have the Holy Spirit prompt me to faithfully bring you my concerns, hopes and desires. You perform wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted. I want to know more of You so I can identify and bring more of your Kingdom in the world around me.” (Adapted from Job 5:8-9)

Readers – Regardless if you are Jewish, Christian or Muslim, you can find a role model in the ancestors’ stories above and I encourage you to read them and begin to dream about your faith legacy: How do you want your story of faithfulness to play out? How can you ask God to press into you? Are there areas of reverence, following, obedience, unconditional love and the ability to serve that you want more of? Boldly Ask!

*God Stops – Our Lord is intentional; there is no such thing as coincidences. God Stops are the experiences and encountered we have with our Heavenly Father in unexpected and amazing ways.