Obedience

Obedience.

Things I think of when I hear that word: Being grounded, Elementary school, and a school a dog goes to when he is out of control.

Obedience is one of those words that you hear and you automatically think: “YES! THIS IS GOING TO BE FUN!”


Negative.

It’s going to be work.

Wouldn’t it have been nice if when we were younger, “being obedient”, when with phrases like, “You WILL go to Disneyland”, “You WILL accept this raise on your allowance”, or “You WILL go on this shopping spree at the mall and buy whatever you want.”

Obedience in something that is definitely something that does not come as second nature, but something that is learned. I have learned the rawest form of Obedience in my obedience to the Lord. And as I currently face, probably the biggest test of obedience I ever have, I can confidently say, you learn more in this process than any other. I recently read this quote:

“Obeying God is difficulty in the world we live in, but we are so much better off by learning through obedience. What we don’t learn through obedience we will usually be taught the hard way to us through difficult experiences.”

“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right” –Ep. 6:1

SO TRUE! That is how it has been or whole life. Obeying God is a lot of the same principals as obeying your parents. Stay out past curfew, grounded for a week. Don’t follow God’s voice in your life, it’s like being spiritually grounded. Feeling stuck because you can’t move. But the truth is: You can’t.

Usually we experience the path of disobedience because we think it is better then what has already been planned for us. But let me ask you this: Is where you end up what you had planned originally? Usually not. When God asks us to go somewhere or to give something up, it is for a great good. Not just for his kingdom, but for OUR lives. God is a God who “gives and takes away.” And believe it or not, even in the “taking away” part, he has our best interest in mind.

Sometimes I need to remind myself of the fact that when I chose to follow the Lord, I chose to give him my life, my hands, and my feet. To go where he wants me to go, to do what he wants me to do, and to say what he wants me to say. People may not always understand that. Infact, most won’t. Because we as humans have become so inward focused, we sometimes think of how people’s choices are going to affect US, rather then what God is doing in their lives.

“Not by way of eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart” –Ep 6:6

I want to be that person. I want to be that person that is being obedient, no matter what God is asking of me. And finally, I am learning how to be. It has taken God asking me how for one of the most important things in my life, but I KNOW it is for a great purpose. One even bigger then me. And although I may not see the benefits of it today and although it may be hard tomorrow, I know that one day, I will look back and know that I made my Father happy.

I encourage you’re my friends. Listen for that voice and be obedient. It may be hard today….but tomorrow it will bring a new journey.