OBEDIENCE

Obedience—“dutiful or submissive compliance”

I would imagine in all of our lives at some point or another, we have been disobedient, maybe to a parent, to the government, to what we know to be the right thing, to our God. 

Admittedly, I was not very disobedient as a child.  I was in great awe of my parents and what they expected of me.  Obedience and good behavior were expected and I knew it for sure.  I did feel the pain of  whippings just a few times (my daddy's hands were quite big) and I quite deserved them all, I know.  Punishment for disobedience was tough.  I think there were times when I would have preferred a whipping rather than a ”talking-to” from my parents. 

As a Christian, I have also been disobedient to the wooings of the Holy Spirit as He might lead my heart in a certain direction.  I have decided as I have matured in my Christian walk that following and being obedient to those calls is much preferred than being disobedient.  A whipping from the Lord is the worst kind.

My treadmill book the last few days is by Beth Moore and is called “Believing God”.  The chapter I read today talked about faith, righteousness, and even obedience.  Something she said in that chapter made me think a bit more.  She says, “Sometimes we have to exercise faith to believe that obedience to God in a difficult situation will ultimately bear fruit even though it looks as though it might immediately cause hardship.”  She goes on to say that we must believe that God can handle consequences of our obedience if someone is not going to approve.  I’ve been in a situation like that lately where I prayed and without a doubt in my heart know that I did what the Lord said.  I know that  in God’s plan, He works things the way the He knows is best.  And I’m okay with that.  Romans 8:28 assures me that ALL things work together for good...  I want to always be obedient even when it is something I don’t understand the importance or the whys of.   Many times in my obedience I have failed to see the “fruit” at all.  Other times when I have obeyed at the urging of the Lord, it has yielded immediate blessings.  

I’ll be very honest with you, there was a time in the past few years when I had to REALLY step out on faith and obey.  It was a time that made my heart fearful because of the unknown even for me and those I love, but God showed exactly what He had in mind and caused a huge blessing.  It was one of those God moments I will never forget.  When I get discouraged or troubled or have that time of not understanding the immediate “plan”, I go back to that time and am encouraged. 

I know the importance of believing IN God, but I know the even bigger importance of BELIEVING GOD.  I love Him, I trust Him, and I believe Him and THAT, my friends, gives my life joy!  He is a great Heavenly Father and I am blessed to call him mine!

Amen!