“Go clean your room.”
No child likes to hear that. Making a mess is easy, but for some reason cleaning it up feels a whole lot harder. Maybe it’s because when Mom or Dad tells you to do it, it feels like their agenda and not yours. I’m pretty sure that’s how I thought about it when I was a kid.
I started thinking back and wondering if my parents ever came to the door, cracked it open, and peeked in while I was supposed to be cleaning. If they did, they probably heard me complaining while I tossed toys back into the toy box. Toys, by the way, that I was blessed to have in the first place.
That thought made me think about my Heavenly Father, because nothing is hidden from His eyes or His ears. He sees how I respond when He gives me instruction. He hears what I say when obedience is not what I wanted to do. He knows when I’m complaining about blessings that someone else may be praying for.
And that is convicting, because I can be guilty of resisting His instruction for my own will. I can want His provision, His protection, and His help, but still push back when He asks me to seek His way first.
Matthew 6:33 says, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
That verse reminds me that God is not trying to take something from me when He gives instruction. He is teaching me what matters most. He knows what I need, and He is asking me to trust Him enough to put His kingdom and His righteousness first.
If I peeked in on my kids and found them listening, obeying, and doing what I asked, it would make me proud. And I want that same thing to be true of me with my Heavenly Father. I want Him to see a heart that is learning to trust Him, even when obedience is not easy or convenient.