Obedience Brings Blessings

We learn obedience throughout our lives. Beginning when we are very young, those responsible for our care set forth guidelines and rules to ensure our safety. Life would be simpler for all of us if we would obey such rules completely. Many of us, however, learn through experience the wisdom of being obedient. There are rules and laws to help ensure our physical safety. 

The Lord has provided us with guidelines and commandments to help ensure our spiritual safety so that we might successfully navigate this often-treacherous mortal existence so that we can return eventually to our Heavenly Father.

He’s not taking things away from us to be mean or giving us a long list of impossible rules to follow. He’s teaching us what things are going to benefit us and what aren't  because He wants us to live the very best life we can. He doesn't want us to be upset, bitter, hurt, resentful, and lost, which often come as a result of disobedience. He wants us to have righteousness, peace, love and joy. Just like a parent with a child, God is saying to each of us, “Why don’t you just do what I tell you to do? I’m telling you this for your own good.” 

The truth is, whatever God asks us to do, it’s for our own benefit, so we need to take it seriously and submit to His direction and His will. The more we do this, the happier and more at peace we will be.

John 14:15 says, If ye love me, keep my commandments. Notice that Jesus didn't say, “If you keep my commandments, I’ll love you.” He already loves us perfectly, and He could never love us more than He already does at this very moment.

Okay..I’m not saying we can buy more of God’s love through our obedience, but our love for Him will grow as we live in obedience to Him and as we experience His faithfulness. The more I grow spiritually and love God more, the more I want to obey Him. I love Him for everything that He is because He’s beautiful, amazing and faithful to all of His promises.

  

Lets think of the soul-stirring act of obedience of Abraham and Isaac. How painfully difficult it must have been for Abraham, in obedience to God’s command, to take his beloved Isaac into the land of Moriah to offer him as a sacrifice. I can't imagine the heaviness of Abraham’s heart as he journeyed to that place? I would imagine that anguish must have racked his body and tortured his mind as he bound Isaac, laid him on the altar, and took the knife to slay him. With unwavering faith and implicit trust in the Lord, he responded to the Lord’s command. How amazing was the pronouncement: “Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.”

Abraham had been tried and tested, and for his faithfulness and obedience the Lord gave him this glorious promise: “In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.”

Although we are not asked to prove our obedience in such a dramatic and heart-wrenching way, obedience is still required of us as well.

It is my prayer, that no matter how many things you need to work on, give them to God one by one and let Him do the work in you.

As you step out and become more determined to obey Him, He will help you do what needs to be done.

Not only will you experience more peace and joy, but your love for God will grow and grow.

//KIMBERLY//