Hmmmmm….faithful and OBEDIENT????  I can get behind faithful but obedient?  Yes, I can get behind that word too!  It can be hard though right?  I know women who have removed the word OBEY from their wedding vows because they say they won’t OBEY their husbands!  Why?  Why is it so difficult for people, women in particular, to be comfortable with this word?

Thinking along those lines….let’s look at why it may be difficult to have the word obey, to be known as that  word,  in our vocabulary.

Because this ministry is about God first, let’s delve into Scripture and see what His Word tells us about that word.

I have this handy-dandy program on my computer to help us.  It’s called

E-Sword and you can get a free….yes FREE copy of it here:

http://www.e-sword.net

Let’s start on the yellow brick road to learning about that word.  

Using the E-Sword tool, I typed in that word  and came up with some surprising stuff.  That word, or a variation of it, is used 1,149 times in the KJV of the Bible.  The first time it is used is in Genesis.

Gen. 22:18  And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

The last time it is used is in I Peter.

1Peter 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?  

The Hebrew word is shama.  What I found cool was the definition….. to hear intelligently.  That isn’t so bad is it?   To hear intelligently…..I can get on board being called intelligent, what about you?

I think we can go back to calling that word by its proper name now.  Obey doesn’t seem such a frightening word now does it?  Now that we’re beginning to put it in its proper context.

When we as women, obey our husbands, it simply means to listen intelligently. If our husband asks something of us that is wrong, that goes against God’s Will, it is okay to refuse.  That’s called hearing intelligently.

Ladies, don’t be afraid of the word obey.  Know that in learning to obey, to listen intelligently, there is a great freedom and peace.  Just as there is peace and freedom in obeying our Heavenly Father.