obedience Archives - Kristina Lunde

June 26, 2023 by Kristina Lunde Leave a Comment

Jochebed: Obedience over Fear

Dear Modern Mama,
Obeying God challenged me to face my fears about raising kids in our situation. Both Levites, my husband Amram and I (Jochebed) lived in Egypt with all the other Israelites. The Egyptians had long forgotten God’s miraculous famine relief administered through our forefather Joseph. A new pharaoh, the reigning Egyptian king, felt threatened by our numbers and forced us into slave labor. I worked the fields with the women, and my dear Amram laid bricks with the men. Hebrew children had to fend for themselves as their parents worked for the Egyptian slavemasters. Amram and I feared bringing children into this world; our people had been slaves for generations. God’s covenant promises of a nation and land of our own seemed impossible. Sometimes I found it difficult to obey God and trust His care for our family.

Into that life of slave labor, I again became pregnant. My two other children, Aaron and Miriam, would soon be old enough to start in the fields. The pharaoh begrudged our people’s strength and population growth. He ordered the midwives to kill the Hebrew boys they delivered, but, thankfully, they refused. Into this scary world, my baby boy was born. My beautiful boy, born healthy and whole! But then the pharaoh ordered the Egyptians to kill newborn Hebrew boys by throwing them into the Nile River. They drowned innocent baby boys! So much sorrow and wailing!

As parents, we all think our children are the best and most special. Of course we do! We have the closest perspective of our kids and see them through the lens of our love and support. We are grateful for these precious gifts from God. I felt the same way about all my children, including my newest baby. God gave Amram and me a plan to save our baby boy. Since the Hebrew women avoided the Nile, we thought the Egyptians would never look there for Hebrew boys. I wove a basket to float my baby on the water, hiding him in the bulrushes along the Nile. While Amram and I worked during the day, Miriam watched her baby brother. I feared seeing them both drowned in the Nile! All I could do was trust God and obey what He had asked us to do.

I remember the day Miriam ran to the field, screaming for me to come to the river. I feared that my baby was dead, but as we ran, Miriam told me that pharaoh’s daughter had discovered our baby and had compassion. Miriam told me that the woman wanted to save him, but I feared that this was a plot to kill all of us. When we got to the river, Miriam’s words proved true. The pharaoh’s daughter wanted to save my Hebrew son! Would you believe she paid me to nurse my own baby?!

After purposefully floating my baby boy on the river of death, that became the site of God’s miracle of redemption when pharaoh’s daughter pulled my son out of the water. Actually, that’s what she named my boy—Moses—which means “drawn out of the water.” (Read about it in Exodus 1 and 2.) After I weaned Moses, I brought him back to the royal household to be raised as pharaoh’s daughter’s own son. Sometimes I feared, questioned, and ached in sorrow over not raising my boy.

Thankfully, God helped me push past my fear to obey Him and to trust that He would take care of Moses. I learned that obeying God is worthwhile, even at the risk of my life and my children’s lives. Not until after my death did I find out what God did through Moses—and all of my children, as recorded in the rest of the Torah. God even called my kids leaders (Micah 6:4)!

To our people in Egypt, it seemed like God had forgotten us in our slavery and sorrow. I focused on saving my baby from drowning, but God had a bigger plan. My Lord God rescued Moses from death and into God’s plan to bring life, redemption, and freedom to all of His people.

May God help you with the incredible children He has entrusted to you. May He teach you to obey Him even when you fear for your family, when you do not understand God’s plan, and when you do not know the outcome.

Sending you encouragement from the river of life,
Jochebed

March 31, 2022 by Kristina Lunde Leave a Comment

Ten Leprous Men and Their Walk of Faith

Our Wednesday night children’s lesson, taken from Luke 17:11-19, focused on Jesus healing the ten men with leprosy. Pastor David told the Bible lesson in his casual interactive style, involving kids in acting out the story. Adult volunteers didn’t usually get a character assignment for the drama, but this time everyone joined in. Portraying the leprous men, adults and kids cried out from a distance, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” Pastor, acting out the part of Jesus, answered, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And then we started walking . . .

How many times had I heard this Bible story?! Children’s lessons often focused on the one man who came back to say thank you for the miracle. Other presentations pointed out the grateful man’s nationality as Samaritan, people rejected by the Jews as outcast half-breeds. Samaritans who received healing and demonstrated faith in Jesus challenged Jewish expectations of the Messiah. Again and again, Jesus the Messiah healed, taught, and expanded people’s understanding of His power and purpose. And this Gospel account still does that today, if we open our hearts to Jesus’ teaching in His Word.

As a people freed from slavery and learning to become God’s nation, the Israelites received instructions in Leviticus for their safety, health, and relationship to God. In addition to butchers, interpreters of the law, and sacrifice intermediaries, the Levite priests became experts on infectious diseases. Detailed dermatology lessons (Leviticus 13:1-46) helped priests examine and pronounce the afflicted person as unclean (e.g. spreading rashes, raw flesh—what we call contagious) or clean (e.g. baldness, a healed rash). Leviticus chapter 13 taught priests when to isolate and re-examine, while the next chapter (Leviticus 14:1-32) described ceremonial cleansing procedures for people declared clean. As recorded thousands of years ago, God gave instructions to keep the Israelites from spreading disease, long before our science-based infection control procedures (e.g. gloves, lab tests, microscopes—even basics like soap and running water).

Ten men with infectious skin disease, translated as leprosy in most Bible versions, stood at a distance, as dictated in Leviticus. Rather than the obligatory cry of “Unclean! Unclean,” these men called out to Jesus for mercy. In compliance with the levitical code, Jesus sent them to the priests. He never pronounced them healed, but the directive to show themselves to the priests meant that their healing would be confirmed.

As we walked around the room acting out the biblical drama, this passage became an object lesson for me. Trying to insert myself into that their walk of faith, I thought of the march to the temple. How long do we have to walk? Are these lumps, ulcers, and discolorations disappearing? Does my back/foot/hand/head look better yet? My self-examination might last the entire trip!

That walk required faith from the ten leprous men—faith that Jesus healed them. Jesus supported the priest’s authority to distinguish clean from unclean and to validate the miracle. No matter what evidence of healing the men observed during their journey, they walked in obedience to Jesus’ command. By faith, the ten men believed that their presentation to the priest would result in a clean examination. And by faith, the healed Samaritan man returned to give thanks to His Savior.

Lord God, please forgive me for my arrogance in thinking I cannot learn anything new from a familiar Bible passage. Thank you for the example of the ten men with leprosy, especially their walk of faith and obedience to your command. Please help me to believe and act on the truth of God’s Word, even when the journey is long and my faith is weak. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
[Originally posted February 2022]

March 31, 2022 by Kristina Lunde Leave a Comment

Mary’s Encouragement for the Mama of Imperfect Children

Dear Modern Mama,
Every mama needs to be validated, so I write to encourage you. As a long-ago mama from biblical times, I know that your life is very different than mine. Yet many aspects of motherhood remain the same: we love our children, serve them with devotion, and pray for them.

My first pregnancy happened in my teens. Engaged to my dear Joe, we were both virgins and planned to change that on our wedding night. The entire situation only makes sense if you know my firstborn’s story. It started with a surprise visit from an angel who told me what would happen. I knew about the Old Testament prophecies, but never dreamed that I would be part of their fulfillment.

Check out the account for yourself, in the first two chapters of Luke and Matthew. Those chapters do not describe all that Joe and I dealt with, from experiencing our community’s shame to obeying God’s unfolding plan. My story seemed unbelievable—an angel, the prophecies, my virginity—so we did not fight the accusations people made about us. Our role involved submission and obedience, even when we didn’t understand why and how God directed us. Those first few years of parenting involved so many moves: Nazareth, Bethlehem, Egypt—it’s all a blur now. To move so often in my day was unusual, but my Joe and I followed God’s directions.

Whether you deal with teenage pregnancy, household moves, undeserved community disapproval, or anything else, I encourage you to draw close to God and let Him guide you. Your life is part of God’s plan, even if you have no idea what God is doing. Believe me, I had to learn that too. God is worth following, even if people shame you, try to kill your child, or hurt you in other ways. I experienced all those things and more, but I tell you the truth: God will guide you through anything you face.

My personal motto became the words the angel said to me: “For no word from God will ever fail” (Luke 1:37). I hung onto those words every time I did not understand, which happened a lot. Joe and I experienced so many unusual events. We knew we needed to obey God and trust in what He said. I tried to take it all in, internally savoring and reflecting on everything that happened.

In the Bible, you will notice that I never preached or told people about my perfect son. Luke chapter 1 records my personal praise song to God during my pregnancy. Other than that, you don’t read a lot about me. Like I said, my job as God’s servant involved my mothering role. No one but me can say their child is perfect. That does not mean I had an easy workload! The imperfect kids came soon after Jesus, and then Joe and I dealt with discipline, misbehavior, and other challenges. All the while, I stayed busy with diapers, meals, household chores, and chasing kids. (Of course, you know all about that, but we did not have the luxuries you do: indoor bathrooms, running water, and toilets.)

As you know, a mama’s job involves lots of hands-on work. I encourage you to use those precious days, months, and years to teach your kids about God’s word and His son. As part of God’s plan, we mother and love our children, thereby becoming a role model of our heavenly Father’s love for us. You may never have a huge platform or speak to crowds, just as I never did, but your children will always watch, listen, and learn from you. My firstborn son proclaimed His story, not me. Instead, I fulfilled my God-given role by raising my children to honor the Lord.

Thank you for loving your kids as part of God’s plan and purpose for them. Our children are a blessing and a life purpose from our dear heavenly Father. May our Lord give you strength and stamina to raise your kids, no matter what challenges you face in parenting.

May your soul magnify the Lord and may your spirit rejoice in God your Savior (Luke 1:46-47), during this Christmas season and always!

Mary, the mother of one perfect child and a bunch of regular ones

[Originally posted December 2021]

March 31, 2022 by Kristina Lunde Leave a Comment

Obeying a God Nudge: From Selfish to Willing

An email request asked Lakes Area Writers Alliance members to volunteer for a shift in a non-profit booth at the county fair. My irritations added up. The group held meetings, inconveniently, on Saturday mornings, and this request also involved weekends. A four-hour shift seemed like a long, boring stretch of time. All of my reasons not to participate felt squelched by a “God-nudge,” to use my husband’s description of a gut feeling that God wants you to do something. I preferred to volunteer for a two-hour shift, but four hours in a row? Really?! How much could I say about group meetings that I rarely attended?

That “God-nudge” prompted me to sign up for the last Saturday morning of the fair. Yes, I volunteered for the day I didn’t want to go, for the job I didn’t want to do, and for a stretch of time I thought seemed too long. But I did it anyway, begrudgingly out of obedience God.

Our writer’s alliance event coordinator had thoroughly prepared the displays. Two rectangular tables included an obligatory candy bowl that attracted kids and other sweet-seekers. A raffle jar offered a prize basket of books written by members of our writers’ alliance—my memoir included. Some group members had self-published short stories in a collection entitled The Storyville Project. Copies were stacked and available for sale. Displayed in racks, stacks, and fanned arrangements, brochures and bookmarks spread across the table tops.

Volunteers had permission to sell their own books, so I spent the first minutes placing my books on easels. As I set up my sales display, I chatted with the woman in the neighboring booth. Her story tumbled out quickly: she was widowed three months prior, after taking care of her ill husband while he was on hospice. Confined to a hospital bed in the living room, her husband needed full-time care, so she had slept on the couch, ready to jump up and help him 24/7.

Her tears flowed as she spoke of her grief. I tried to reassure her about the grief processing she had already accomplished, even though nothing felt normal to her yet. Not surprisingly, the fatigue she accumulated as a caretaker now compounded her grief. We spoke of God’s healing and comfort. I gave her the GriefShare website, so that she could sign up for daily emails and check out this fall’s grief groups. Later, a woman walked by the booth dressed in a memorial t-shirt that displayed several family members’ names and dates of death. We also discussed death and grief, and I gave her the same resources and information.

My entire booth shift turned out to be a pleasant surprise, and the four hours passed quickly. Several teenagers approached the booth, some reluctantly as their supportive parents asked questions on their child’s behalf. Identifying these shy teenagers, I started conversations about their favorite genres and encouraged them to continue writing. Hoping that the teens would be challenged and validated by submitting a story, I asked each one to contribute to the next edition of The Storyville Project. One teenager described working on projects with her sister who created anime drawings for her stories. As I marveled at their talents, I encouraged them to keep collaborating.

I enjoyed giving booth visitors information about our Lakes Area Writers Alliance. Not all conversations related to writing as I talked with kids, parents, and families. The Gideons International hosted a nearby booth where they gave out New Testament Bibles. Unlike the plain covers I remember from decades ago, the new Bible came in colorful covers: designs, graphics, and even camouflage. I engaged a few kids in conversation as they walked by with their pocket-sized gifts.

Afterward, I thought about my much-needed attitude rearrangement. I had signed up for my shift out of reluctant obedience to the “God-nudge,” or God’s prompting. That reluctance started to change when I recognized God’s divine appointments. Within minutes of my arrival, God arranged one-on-one time to speak with a grieving widow in the neighboring booth. God blessed my volunteer shift with meaningful conversations with kids, families, grieving people, writers, and friends. Once my selfishness got out of the way, God changed my attitude to willing—even joyful—obedience.

Lord God, Forgive my reluctant and frustrated attitude toward obeying your prompting, or those “God-nudges.” Change my heart, dear God, and teach me to be joyful and willing as I obey. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
[Originally posted August 2021]