If ye love Me, keep My commandments. {John 14:15}
Here’s a word not a lot of us like: Obedience. It seems so constricting, so uptight, and so hard. It’s easy to say, “I love You, Jesus, I give my life to You” but when it comes to hearing His voice and following what He’s telling us to do, often times it’s not that easy. Even writing about it here is a challenge for me. But you know, I’m writing about it because now and then we need a little reminder. We need to remember that in order for our prayers to be answered and God’s blessings to come our way, all the time we need to be listening to Him and obeying Him. In order for us to have more of God and know His voice more, we need to be listening and obeying Him. When He tells us in our spirit to do something for Him or not to do something for Him, we need to listen and to obey. I’ve found again and again that when I do listen and obey He does bless me more. My prayers and heart’s desires get answered. I see more of Him in my life and I feel more of Him in my soul and in my spirit.
However, this is not to bring any of us to a mentality of, “Now I have to obey God or He’s not going to love me or bless me anymore.” I don’t want us to end up beating ourselves up and getting discouraged in our relationship with the Lord because we haven’t been doing too well in this obedience subject. This is not about that. Remember we’re not alone in this relationship with Him. He’s in this together with us. We’re not alone. He’s not expecting us to be perfect and righteous without His help. His desire is to help us follow Him. Our part is to keep talking to Him and to keep looking for His guidance and strength. He will help us if our hearts and our minds are set on Him.
On the other hand, don’t be like the Pharisees looking for something to do that we think will please God, and since we’ve accomplished it we now oblige God to bless us. A mindset like that will surely bring disappointments in our relationship with the Lord. Doing righteous works versus listening to the voice of the Lord are totally different scenarios. We do righteous works not so that God will bless us, it’s because we love Him. If we expect God to bless us because we did something for Him, we can end up like Job when trials and tribulations come. We can end up accusing God of being unfair because we think we did everything right in His eyes and we think we don’t deserve any trials at all anymore. We can end up really disappointed with God. But if we do the things the Lord expects for us to do because it is pleasing before Him, and because we love Him whether He blesses us or not, then naturally His blessings and favor will follow us.
This is where obeying Him becomes important. If we love Him we will not only do the things His word tells us to do, but we will also listen to His voice. Listen to that still small voice in our spirit that tells us what to do, where to go, and what to say. Maybe He’s been telling you to stop watching movies that aren’t pleasing before Him. Maybe He’s been telling you to watch what you say to a friend, to your child, or to your co-workers but you haven’t been listening. Maybe He’s been dealing with you in your heart about forgiving a friend that has hurt and offended you, yet you continue to hold a grudge against them. Maybe the Lord has also dealt with you about giving up your career to follow Him and preach His word, or be a minister or a pastor for Him, and still you’re not doing it. Maybe the Lord is telling you things that you alone know He’s dealing with you about, and you haven’t followed. Whatever it is, obedience will set you free. The things that you thought were impossible will become possible. The doors that were closed and prayers that have been way overdue will now appear before your eyes and will become a reality. There are many things that may get in the way of our prayers and heart’s desires, but I have found again and again that when I trust the Lord and obeyed His voice to do what He has placed in my heart to do, He turns around and blesses me. The things I thought were impossible, He has made possible. The things I didn’t think could happen, He has made it come to pass.
Obedience is one of the most important elements in our relationship with the Lord. Without obedience how can God do His work in us? How can we follow Him all the way and go where He desires for us to go? It’s not possible to love God without obedience. It is not possible to be His servant or His minister to others, when we’ve closed our ears off from His correction or His admonition. It is important that we continue to listen to the Lord no matter how long we’ve been in church or how long we’ve been serving Him. A little nudging of the Holy Ghost or an impression in our hearts should be sufficient for us to know that God is dealing with us, and we must obey. How can we expect for our prayers to be answered or our heart’s desires to be granted to us if we’re not listening to His voice?
Obedience doesn’t have to be an impossible thing in our life. It may be for some of us, but a simple heart to heart talk with Jesus will make all things right for us. All we need to do is be honest with Him. Tell Him your reasons why you’re having a hard time obeying Him. Tell Him your fears and your struggles. Remember He is here for us and is not against us. The Bible states that He has not come down on this earth to condemn us, but to give us His life and to save us. {John 3:16-17} The process of saving us is to give us power to be His child and belong to Him. Surely the Lord will help us to obey Him because His desire is for us to follow Him all the way. He knows without Him we cannot do anything. He’s the one that saves us from our sins, and therefore He will be the one to carry us through until the end. There is no way we can follow Him on our own. So obeying Him has to be His work in our lives too. He has to help us.
Don’t postpone your blessings from the Lord today by not obeying Him. Don’t keep the doors of opportunities and fulfilled promises closed in your life. Most importantly, don’t become like those people in the Lord’s parable who went around preaching His word, and even prophesying and casting out devils, but the Lord told them He didn’t know them. Why? It’s because they haven’t wholeheartedly followed Him. The Lord told them they were full of iniquities. {Matthew 7:21-23} Their lives really were a lie because they did what they thought would please God, but did not have an obedient heart. They did what they wanted to do and not what He wanted them to do. They did not listen to His voice and obey Him.
Have a talk with Jesus and clear everything up with Him. Have Him come and help you to obey Him. He is here for us and is desirous to help us obey Him. Obedience is crucial to our relationship with the Lord. Without it we could end up lost. If we want more of Him, obedience is key in our walk with Him. We will never know Him completely and truly love Him completely without obedience.
Then said Jesus unto His disciples, If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. {Matthew 16:24}
Prayer
Lord Jesus, I thank You that Your love for me is ever faithful and ever so true. I thank You that there is nothing too hard for You. You said all I need to do is come and learn of You, for You are meek and lowly of heart, and I will find rest for my soul.
Father, You know how many times I struggle in hearing and knowing Your voice. Sometimes I don’t even realize what You’re saying or what You’re desiring for me to do. So please help me today to know You more. Help me today to spend more time with You in Your presence, so that I will come to hear Your voice more clearly and succinctly. Give me faith in You Jesus, for without You I am lost. Without You I am nothing in this life. Please Jesus help me Father to know You and Your voice. Most importantly Lord, help me to truly love You and obey You. I am asking for the power to obey You today, Father, in Your most wonderful and powerful name, Jesus. Thank You, Father. Amen.
#repostApril2018
