Obedience To God

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

The Holy Spirit has lain on my heart to write about obedience to God. This has been something that I have been battling with for a long time but the Lord has been showing me a lot about my life lately. Hopefully my experience will be able to help someone else.

First let us look at what being obedient is: Webster's dictionary defines being obedient as being submissive to the restraint or command of authority: willing to obey. So to be obedient to someone is to be submissive and willing to obey him or her. Willing means to obey with joy. To be willing to obey means that you should have already realized what needs to be done and do it without being asked. This is something that I have found hard to do (just ask my family). But it is also something that the Lord is teaching me.

Now in order to teach about anything I believe that you should have first hand knowledge about what it is that you are going to say. Advice from someone with no idea what you are going through is useless. You do not ask for mechanical advice from an accountant, you go to the person that knows what they are talking about. There are many things that I cannot teach you about but I can tell you about obedience to God. 

For many years I did my own thing and it had the expected results. I ended up broke, lonely and homeless because God was trying to show me things that I was to stubborn and prideful to see. I was so deep in sin and on my way to hell that God had to bring in a prophet from overseas to give me a wakeup call. It was not a pleasant experience because man hates correction (Hebrews 12:11). I don't know anyone who enjoyed getting spanked or grounded as a kid, but being an adult and thinking that we no longer need correction is worse. But Job 5:17 says, Blessed is the man whom God corrects. Now it took a long time for me to see that, and some times I still have trouble with God's correction. But as long as I am obedient to Him He will bless me. Keep this in mind the next time God corrects you, for as Proverbs 3:12 says God disciplines those whom He loves. And if God is no longer correcting you then you have a serious problem and you are on your way to HELL.

Obedience to God is simple. DO AS YOU ARE TOLD! It's that simple.

Now your flesh will tell you that it cannot be done. Do not listen to it. Matthew 19:26 tells us that with God ALL things are possible - ALL not some. Now God cannot lie and He is no respecter of persons, so what He does for one He will do for you. So when Jesus tell His disciples that all things are possible through God then He is telling that to you also. The sinful nature of man is such that we hate correction, but Proverbs 15:10 tells us that he who hates correction will die. So we had better learn to like it. Just keep in mind that God only corrects those that He loves.

Hebrews 12:5-11 says, My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son. Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. So rejoice in Gods discipline because it means that He loves you. If He does not discipline you then it means you are illegitimate. We are corrected so that we can share in God's holiness and that we might know the righteousness and peace of God.

But the most important thing is to learn from your discipline and to not repeat your mistakes. Genesis 6:3 says that God will not strive with man forever. Everyone has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God but if you continue to deliberately sin then God will turn away from you and leave you to your sin. If God corrects you it is for a reason. The Lord does nothing without a reason. In Romans 8:28 it says, And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. God works ALL things for good, even correction.

So, if you are convicted it is because God loves you (Hebrews 12:6) and you are not yet beyond hope. Correction is a blessing (Job 5:17) and will be for your good to produce righteousness and peace. In your obedience you will be blessed, but as with all of God's promises there is a prerequisite. YOU MUST OBEY!! It is not as hard as you think. Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy my burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30).

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