Divine Obedience: When God Wakes You at 3 AM
It’s happening again. My mind is starting to hear Him in many different ways. What woke me out of my sleep at 3 AM this morning wasn’t restlessness or anxiety—it was God revealing to me things I never comprehended before. Something so simple, yet so profound: Stop getting angry over the phone. I’ll eventually place it in your hands.
The comfort and confidence I feel knowing that Goddie has truly accepted me back into His kingdom surpasses every other emotion I’ve ever experienced. Behind these walls, separated from my two children, I could easily crumble. But at this moment, waking at 3 AM to read my Bible and pray isn’t a burden or a chore. It’s become my lifeline. Because I know there’s a message waiting for me—and the sleep I’ll get after receiving what God wants to tell me will be so much sweeter than any restless sleep, I would have stolen by disobeying Him.
The Scripture That Shook My Soul
Since He gave me the energy to write tonight, I knew He wanted me to open up to a specific scripture. And boom Goddie gave me exactly what I needed to hear: Matthew 7:24-27.
“Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
Let me break this down the way God is breaking it down for me.
Two Builders, Two Foundations, Two Destinies
Those who hear the teachings of the Lord and obey them are wise—just like those who build their house on bedrock. When you build on the Rock, when the storm clouds crash harder and the winds knock on the windows of your mind and heart, your foundation doesn’t teeter or totter. The storm still comes. The rain still falls. But you remain standing.
Now contrast that with those who listen to the teachings of the Lord yet still live in the flesh and disobey His commands. When those same storm waves come crashing against your world, your foundation won’t be stable anymore—or maybe it wasn’t stable in the first place. The house falls, and great is its fall.
Sister, brother—listen to me. I’m writing this from a place where storms aren’t metaphorical. I’m incarcerated, separated from my babies, stripped of my freedom. If there were ever a time for my foundation to crumble, it would be now. But I’m standing. Why? Because I finally learned to build on bedrock instead of sand.
The Blessing of Obedience Even When Life Seems Fine
Here’s what God is teaching me, and I want you to grasp it: When we obey the Lord, even when things seem fine, we’re still receiving messages we didn’t even know we needed. Obedience isn’t just about crisis management—it’s about foundation building during the calm so you can withstand the storm.
Before I got here, I thought I was doing okay. I thought my foundation was solid enough. But I was building on sand—on my own understanding, my own timing, my own solutions. And when the storm came, everything collapsed. The arrest. The separation from my children. The shame. The fear. It all came crashing down because I had heard God’s voice before but chose to keep living in the flesh.
What Obedience Actually Looks Like
Let me get real with you about what obedience has looked like for me behind these walls:
It looks like waking up at 3 AM when God calls, even though my body is exhausted and I could easily roll over and ignore that gentle whisper.
It looks like controlling my anger on the phone when I hear my children crying for me, when every fiber of my being wants to rage against these circumstances. But God said, “Stop getting angry. I’ll eventually place it in your hands.” So I obey, trusting His timeline over my emotions.
It looks like praying for people who hurt me, for the system that locked me up, for my own mistakes that led me here. Not because I feel like it, but because He commanded it.
It looks like reading my Bible daily, mining for those nuggets of gold that keep me sane, that remind me I’m still His daughter even when I feel like a failure as a mother.
It looks like choosing faith when fear is screaming, choosing peace when chaos is knocking, choosing joy when depression tries to move in as a permanent resident.
This is the bedrock. This is what holds when everything else is shaking.
God’s Promises Are Stronger Than Any Man-Made Anchor
Let me tell you what I’ve learned: God’s promises are stronger than any man-made anchor. The world’s solutions are sand. Your own strength? Sand. Your reputation, your plans, your control? All sand.
But God’s Word? That’s bedrock, baby. That’s the foundation that doesn’t shift when your life gets turned upside down.
The world told me I was finished when I got locked up. Society said I was just another statistic, another broken mother, another cautionary tale. But Goddie said, “Phoenix, you’re rising. You’re not finished—you’re being refined.”
And that’s the difference between building on sand and building on rock. The sand will tell you the storm is the end. The Rock will tell you the storm is just a setup for your testimony.
To Every Believer Facing Their Storm
Maybe you’re reading this and you’re in your own storm right now. Maybe it’s not incarceration, but it’s addiction. Maybe it’s not behind physical bars, but you’re imprisoned by depression, by shame, by fear, by broken relationships, by financial ruin, by grief.
Hear me clearly: The storm is not the point. Your foundation is.
If you’ve been building on sand—on what feels good, what makes sense to you, what everyone else is doing, what’s convenient—now is the time to switch construction sites. It’s not too late. I’m living proof that God will meet you in your mess and help you rebuild on the Rock.
The Reward of Listening and Trusting
God blesses those who listen and trust in His name. Even when the storm feels unbearable, His presence is your shelter. Even when you can’t see the way out, His promises light your path. Even when you’re weak, His strength is made perfect.
I wake up at 3 AM now not because I have to, but because I get to. I get to hear from the Father who never abandoned me, even when I abandoned myself. I get to receive messages that prepare me for challenges I don’t even see coming yet. I get to build on bedrock while I’m still in the valley, so that when I reach the mountaintop again, my foundation is unshakeable.
This is what obedience produces: a peace that surpasses understanding, a joy that isn’t circumstantial, and a confidence that God’s plan is better than anything I could ever construct on my own.
If you want to see how discipline transforms healing, read my story: Power Through Discipline: My Self-Healing Behind Bars.
Continue to Blossom
To my sisters and brothers who feel like you’re in a season of pruning, of waiting, of testing—keep obeying. Keep listening for His voice. Keep waking up when He calls. Keep building on the Rock even when it seems like nothing is happening.
We will continue to blossom. Not might. Not maybe. Will.
Because the same God who woke me at 3 AM to give me exactly the word I needed is the same God who sees you right now. He knows your storm. He knows your breaking point. And He’s inviting you to build your life on something that cannot be shaken.
So when the rain comes down—and it will—when the streams rise and the winds blow and beat against your house, you’ll stand firm. Not because you’re strong, but because your foundation is unshakeable.
Not because you’re perfect, but because you’re obedient.
Not because the storm isn’t real, but because the Rock is realer.
To deepen your understanding of obedience in faith, you can also explore Mary, Mother of Jesus: Faithful Obedience, a powerful reflection on divine surrender and trust:
https://consecratedtogod.com/2024/09/08/mary-mother-of-jesus-faithful-obedience/
From Phoenix, a mother of two, currently incarcerated but eternally free in Christ. Building on bedrock, one day of obedience at a time.
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” — Proverbs 3:5-6