Chosen Grace

Hey friends! This blog post is dedicated to all those who need help obeying.

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As I have transitioned from my teens to my early twenties I have learned the importance of fitness. I absolutely love going to the gym and running. So, when December 2023 rolled around and I injured myself- I was butt hurt. Let me break it down to you.

In early December I had a regular leg day at the gym. I was finishing my squats and something just did not feel right. However, I went on about my day as usual. The next day, I woke up- completely ignoring the light twinges in my stomach that I was having. That day, I ran 4 miles. It was a hard run, because my stomach pains were not letting up.

That same day, I rode the bus to campus and as soon as I stepped foot into the library I had to pause to regain my composure: my stomach pains felt more like menstrual cramps (if you’re a woman reading this- then you know from experience how terrible they can be).

As the days went on my stomach pains got worse. I tried stretching it but that seemed to only make it worse. After crying, praying, and talking to my mom- I decided to make an appointment to go see the doctor.

When it came time for my doctor’s apointment- everything went by fast. After 5 minutes of asking questions, the doctor told me that I had sprained my lower abdomen. I was shocked but then it all made sense. My mind immediately went back to my leg day and knew that all of this started then.

When I asked the doctor what I should do, this is what he said: “When it stops hurting, go back to the gym. But you just need to rest.”

Now- I can’t lie to y’all- I was HURT when the doctor told me that. I absoluely love going to the gym so being still is not my favorite past time. And if you’ve been with me for a while, you know I have said time and time again that I need to be doing something.

So- I went home discouraged. But, as I sat with my thoughts the Lord led me to Genesis 24. Let’s take a look at a few verses below:

“Abraham was now very old, and the Lord had blessed him in every way.  He said to the senior servant in his household, the one in charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh. I want you to swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living,  but will go to my country and my own relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac.”

– Genesis 24:1-4, NIV

The verses above are pretty self explanatory but let me add some fuel to the fire: Abraham’s senior servant had been given very specific directions. Abraham basically made a covenant with him and told him very specifically where and what type of wife he was requiring for his son Isaac.

You see, in our lives God does the exact same thing. Just as my doctor told me that all I needed to do was to sit down, God often instructs us to do or not to do this or that. And when that happens, we often have questions as to “why?” or “why not?”. Like us, Abraham’s servant had the same question:

 The servant asked him, “What if the woman is unwilling to come back with me to this land? Shall I then take your son back to the country you came from?”

Make sure that you do not take my son back there,” Abraham said. “The Lord, the God of heaven, who brought me out of my father’s household and my native land and who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, ‘To your offspring^[a] I will give this land’—he will send his angel before you so that you can get a wife for my son from there. If the woman is unwilling to come back with you, then you will be released from this oath of mine. Only do not take my son back there.” So the servant put his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and swore an oath to him concerning this matter.

– Genesis 24:5-9, NIV

When Abraham’s servant asked this question- Abraham did not say what he felt was right. Instead, he replied with what he knew God had promised Him.

I think that we can all take a page from Abraham’s book. Sometimes what God asks of us isn’t easy. Sometimes it really doesn’t make sense- but we must be reminded that God’s ways are not our ways. His thoughts are not our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9).

Now, what I do not mean is that God wants us to be floating around in our daily lives confused But what I do know is that God’s instruction- no matter how weird, out of the box, or random they may be is good. In fact, His instruction works for our good and His perfect will. Romans 8:28 lets us know that ALL THINGS work together for our good. Even the instructions that don’t make sense.

I gotta be honest with y’all. When I first heard the doctor tell me to rest, I agreed verbally, but immediately thought to myself that I would be back to run by the next week. And so I did- and that resulted in my stomach hurting and cramping up more and more. I quickly learned that there was absolutely no way that could ignore what the doctor had said. I couldn’t go around His instruction.

This is the same way we should be with God. We can’t hear what God says and just ignore it. If we do- we’re at risk of being disobedient. Worse than that, we’re at risk of stepping outside of God’s will. And outside of His will welcomes Satan, sin, and all the other bad things. And while God will save us from those things- it won’t come without a lesson learned (sometimes a hard one).

As I end this blog post, let me say that this was not what I originally wanted to talk about. And I must admit, I too am convicted by this post. But conviction is God’s way of letting us know that His love is still chasing us down. Conviction is good!

I encourage you all to read Genesis 24 in it’s entirety. I don’t wanna spoil it, but I wanna let y’all know that everything worked out!

Finally- just obey God…even when it doesn’t make sense.

With love,

Malaysia