What are some of the seemingly crazy things God has asked of you?

Or what are some of the crazy things a leader has asked of you?

Things that don’t make sense, seem a little strange, obscure even.

I’m not talking about immoral or unethical things, just things that don’t fit your thinking, or limited perspective.

What do you do?

Some people rationalize away those requests; after all, they’re strange.  Some get other people’s opinions to garner support for their own reasons as to why the request is crazy, so they can justify not following through, or to present a different plan of action.

Moses was up a mountain on the edge of a desert when God asked him to make a tabernacle, furniture, and a covering for the tabernacle using sea cow hides (Exodus 25:5, 26:14).  Sea cow hides.  Seems a little odd, a little obscure.

Moses’ response could have been, “Sea cow hides?  Up a mountain?  In a desert?”  Many people respond that way, looking at the limitations of the request.

Moses didn’t question, he just got busy doing everything God asked of him.  Later in Exodus 36 (10 chapters later), the Israelites, the people with Moses, donated their time, their skills, and all the items necessary for the building of the tabernacle, including the sea cow hides—while they were still in the desert.

God is often just looking for obedience, not our opinion.  So if it’s God, or the leader God has placed in our lives, our willing obedience is important.

When we waste time questioning or trying to assert our own opinions instead of just getting the job done, we slow down the work of God and our own faith stalls.  We won’t see that God’s provision was right there all along—on the other side of our obedience.

**The sea cow (dugong dugong) was native to that area. A herbivorous mammal, living by the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba, it is still used today by the Bedouin to make sandals. (The Bible Knowledge Commentary, Ex 25:1-9). The path the Israelites took out of Egypt, took them along the Red Sea, passing between the Red Sea and Mount Sinai, where Moses was given the Tabernacle instructions. Then along the Gulf of Aqaba. Sea cows were plentiful.

Israelite Journey along the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba

Humility is the fear of God, Proverbs 22:4a.

The fear of God is living with the awesome wonder, respect and appreciation for Who God is. He is the Creator of everything we can see, even things we can’t see. He is the Author of life, and He loves us.

Because He loves us, His grace saves us.

Our growing understanding of His love, causes us to love Him and live a life that pleases Him. A life that pleases Him is a life of love and service to people.

If we say we love God and serve God, yet don’t love all people and will not serve people, we are nothing but a liar. Concerned more with pushing for our own way, looking for people to serve us and full of our own self-importance. It’s a lack of love and a lack of humility.

If we walk humbly with God, it will be seen in our sacrificial love and service to people. We easily prefer others, seeking to lift and encourage them. Seeing people connect to Jesus and become all they can for Him–often at great personal cost to ourselves. We can do this because Jesus did it for us first, and He asks us to do it for others.

Further, humility is seen in our ability to submit our lives to the leaders God has placed in our lives. An inability to submit to Church authority is a lack of humility. When we can serve our leaders, obediently, with integrity in our heart, we are honoring God through our service to them.

True humility will never separate our deep love, honor, respect and commitment to God, from our deep love, honor, respect, commitment and monumental value we place on people. All people. His people. Our Family.