Precious Moments

I have had quote below copied in my Bible for quite some time. Today as I was having my morning quiet time, my eyes fell upon it. While I can't recall the reason I decided to place these words in my Bible, it was a sobering reminder to me today that obedience to Scripture is of utmost importance and there will be times that obedience comes with a high price. Not everyone will agree with where God is leading you to be obedient but too choose anything but obedience wastes precious time. It is humbling to me when I let it sink in that people are watching me. My children, my husband, family, friends, neighbors, strangers, and so forth are watching me. Are they seeing Christ and the way He would respond or are they seeing the flesh out of control? God doesn't waste time ever. This begs me to repeat that time is precious. It is easier to point those observing my life with a right response the first time than to have to backtrack and try to re-point them in the right direction because of a step out of obedience. Enough of my thoughts. Here is the quote:

"We are apt to imagine that if Jesus Christ constrains us, and we obey Him, He will lead us to great success. We must never put our dreams of success as God's purpose for us. His purpose may be exactly the opposite. We have idea that God is leading us to a particular end, a desired goal. He is not. The question of getting to a particular end is a mere incident. What we call the process, God calls the end. What is my dream of God's purpose? His purpose is that I depend on Him and on His power now. If I can stay in the middle of the turmoil, calm and unperplexed, that is the end of the purpose of God. God is not working toward a particular finish. He is in the process. That I see Him walking on the waves, no shore in sight, no success, no goal, just the absolute certainty that it is alright because I see Him walking on the sea. It is the process, not the end which is glorifying to God. God's training is for now, not presently. It's purpose is the for this minute, not something in the future. We have nothing to do with the afterwards of obedience. We get it wrong when we think of the afterwards. If we realize that obedience is the end, then each moment is precious "

~Oswald Chambers