Swallowed up and spit out

"It is only when we are swallowed up by God, and spit out as a new creation, that we find ourselves changed in the twinkling of an eye" I have been mulling over this post for the past several days, chewing on it in my thought life. In this place in life, I find myself coming back to the crux of what I believe.....to be obedient to my Lord. I believe that all of Christianity can be narrowed down to that one word, "OBEDIENCE". I feel most comfortable when I am obedient, because I feel in right standing, all is well with my soul. I stepped out in obedience the other night at work, praying with a co-worker regarding a very serious eye condition. In the stillness of that moment, I felt God's hand and presence, my words faltered as I felt my eyes welling with tears of pain for her. I know she is wrestling with something much bigger than herself, and I know that I have something she does not. If you are reading this, and are a praying individual, pray for her...her name is Amy. My deceased mentor Oswald Chambers has this to say about obedience. "We must never put our dreams of success as God's purpose for us; His purpose may be exactly the opposite.......What we call the process, God calls the end." "God is not working towards a particular finish; His end is 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 all right because I see Him walking on the sea. It is the process, not the end, which is glorifying to God." "We have nothing to do with the afterwards of obedience.....if we realize that obedience is the end, then each moment as it comes is precious." Obedience not only has taken on a reality at work, but in the process of selling our albatross (a beautiful home!). I know it is only through the obedience of being patient that I must live in the moment, in the "process". So whether I am being still and knowing that He is who He says his (while waiting for my house to sell), or ministering to a hurting woman......I know it is through the process where I will become changed in the twinkling of an eye.....