What About “Obey”?

We looked at trusting God, now let’s talk about obeying God. I think some people think obeying God is going to be hard, that He is going to ask them to do difficult things. Usually unconsciously they think they are not good at obeying God because they don’t know what He wants them to do other than “be better”. It is easy to feel like we come up short because we know we have so many areas that we wish we were better about.

Actually, I don’t see anywhere in His Word that God expects us to “be better” on our own. We have to remember that the Holy Spirit actually lives inside us. Think about that for a minute…the God who made the entire universe and all that is in it lives inside of you! One of His names is Helper! He is there to help you be obedient to God. 

I think back to raising my children. Having them be obedient to me was important to me, but also to them. As I told them, as you learn to be obedient to me and your dad, you will have an easier time being obedient to God as you grow older. Also, learning to be obedient to a parent who loves you helps you understand that that is the same reason God wants you to obey Him. I always gave them the example about playing in or walking across the street. If you disobey me and play in the street or walk there without paying attention, you could really get hurt! But if you obey me and play in the yard, not the street, your chances of getting hit by a car are so much smaller!

One thing about obedience is that you have to know what is expected of you. What are you supposed to obey? God wants us to obey His Word - the written Word (the Bible) and His spoken Word (that still, small voice you hear inside you.) If you don’t think you can hear that still, small voice, I challenge you to just stop and listen. God wants to talk with you. He wants to have a relationship with you. When you pray, don’t do all the talking. Be quiet and listen. Practice listening and obeying on things that don’t matter, like, should I take this route or this route to work today? It may feel awkward at first but keep with it. As you read your Bible, stop and meditate on what you read. As you do, you are giving Him an opportunity to speak to your heart about it. As you continue on in this, you will realize that you can hear from God!

Then, as you hear from God and you develop in your relationship with Him, trusting Him gets easier and easier. When you trust Him in an area, it is a natural by-product to do what He says. I’ll give you an example. When I was a kid, I was trying and trying to learn how to dive into the swimming pool. I finally did it but had too much spin at the end and would end up doing a flip once I hit the water! I was excited to be able to dive though! However, it wasn’t long until I dove in and was too close to the edge. I hit my head hard on the wall of the pool as I flipped underwater. That hurt! It kept me from even trying to dive again for many years. I was an adult when I finally got over that fear. It took some nudging from God to even try again. I had been learning that He could be trusted and so I took the plunge and sure enough, learned to dive without the underwater flip. 

God can be trusted! If you’re not sure, just keep reading His Word and talking with Him in prayer. You’ll get there. He’s very patient and He loves you more than you can imagine! I have overcome so many obstacles in my life just because I have learned that He loves me, and I can trust Him! So, I encourage you to go ahead, trust Him! Pick an area, read about it in His Word, talk to Him about it, and He will begin to lead you step by step. Isaiah 1:9 says, “if you be willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land.” If you make yourself willing to trust and obey God, you will reap a deeper and more satisfying relationship with God. I’m praying for you!