Obedience | A Key to Victory
Obedience to God matters. As Believers we know this, but do we always walk in it? Especially when the cost of obedience is high?
Join us as we discover how God desires obedience and how being obedient is key to understanding and living our Kingdom call!
Is All Obedience Equal?
Obedience to God is always the right choice. No matter the consequences.
Yet, sometimes we view obedience as having different levels of importance…
For instance, if God were to tell us to do something ‘impressive’ we might view the level of importance for our obedience as higher. After all, if it is ‘big’ then it must be more important. Right?
“Then Naaman went with his horses and chariot, and he stood at the door of Elisha’s house. And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, ‘Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean.’ But Naaman became furious, and went away and said, ‘Indeed, I said to myself, “He will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy.” Are not the Abanah and the Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?’ So he turned and went away in a rage. And his servants came near and spoke to him, and said, ‘My father, if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, “Wash, and be clean”?’ So he went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.”
—2 Kings 5:9-14
So if God tells us to give five dollars to a cause, we may view that as being less important than if He were to tell us to give five hundred dollars. Or if God tells us to bring one extra bag of chips to a gathering, we may view that as being less important than if He were to tell us to bring eight. Yet, no matter if God would have us give five or five-hundred dollars, or have us bring one or eight extra bags of chips… there is a choice to be made. Obedience or disobedience. Yes, it is easy to assume that failing to give five dollars or bringing one extra bag of chips may not have any ‘noticeable’ effects, but we cannot be certain. God does not ask us to do things without reason. So whether He is using it to test our faith or to bring His Kingdom to earth… our obedience matters.
The same is true for all things and situations…
For instance, if we fail to do something the way God asks but still appear to get the same results, we may think that it does not matter. But God weighs the intents of the heart. He understands that obedience, faith, love, and a healthy fear of the Lord are all connected.
God honors obedience… and we can never know what would have been if we choose to be disobedient.
To God, obedience matters in all things. Yes, the consequences in the natural may vary from one aspect of obedience to another. But the spiritual, eternal consequence is always there. It always matters if we choose to be obedient to God or not…
Because while we may be able to escape the negative choices of disobedience to God, we cannot escape the knowledge of disobedience. Nor the issues it brings in our relationship with God. Nor the eternal effects… save by the grace, blood, and mercy of God through repentance and change.
Obedience in ALL Things
There are many in the Word whose stories tell us that disobedience has consequences—sometimes only for ourselves, but sadly, at other times, having consequences for those around us, who were innocent in our disobedience.
And while obedience can have its own consequences on earth, God honors obedience on earth AND, more importantly, in Heaven. He blesses it… for eternity!
Consider Esther, who had to go before the king uninvited, to protect the Jews living in the Persian Empire.
In the natural, the consequence for Esther’s obedience to God would be death for going before the king uninvited…
Spiritually, however, the consequence for obedience was not only being in right-standing with God, but it was also finding favor with the king, it was saving her life and the lives of her people… it was bringing God’s Kingdom to earth and tearing down the darkness that invaded Persia.
Consider Abraham, who had to choose between clinging to the promise God had given him, or to God…
After Abraham was given the son of God’s promise—Isaac—Abraham was given a test. Would he be willing to give up his son—the fulfillment of God’s promise—or would he choose his son over God?
This was certainly a difficult choice to make, yet Abraham chose to be obedient, preparing to sacrifice Isaac to the Lord. And, because Abraham was obedient and faithful, the Lord not only spared Isaac but brought further blessings to Abraham and his descendants. Blessings still felt to this day!
Consider David, who walked in obedience through many, many tests in his life…
When David was obedient to God, not only did he find the Lord’s favor, but so did those around him and those he led. This can be seen from his youth, when he faced Goliath, to adulthood when God had David crowned as king.
Yet, in one instance where he was disobedient—where he looked to his might and not the Lord’s—sadly, there were dire consequences. Not just for David alone, but for his people as well—leading to the death of 70,000 of his subjects and demonstrating that our choices affect more than just ourselves.
Consider the three Jewish captives of Babylon, who chose the difficult path of obedience…
These men were Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, or as their Babylonian captors renamed them, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. They had been favored by God, rising to leadership positions within Babylon, but when king Nebuchadnezzar required all of his officials to bow to the massive gold statue of himself, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego had a choice. Obey God and not bow to it, or be executed in a fiery furnace.
This was a difficult decision, but because they chose to be obedient to God, no matter the cost, God protected them in the furnace, causing the king and many in Babylon to know about the power of the Great I AM—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob! And because of this, Nebuchadnezzar made a decree that no one could speak against the God of these men and even chose to promote Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego to even greater positions of authority than they had previously known!
As can be seen by these and other biblical stories, obedience, no matter the consequence is important to God. He is faithful to us and desires that we be faithful to Him in return.
“So Samuel said:
‘Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
as in obeying the voice of the Lord?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
and to heed than the fat of rams.
For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft,
and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
He also has rejected you…’”
—1 Samuel 15:22-23
The Lord desires us to be obedient rather than to constantly rely upon repentance or to try to earn our way back to Him. He loves us, but when we choose to walk in disobedience, we make ourselves god; rejecting Him in many ways from our lives. And how can we prosper apart from God? How can we understand the will and heart of God, or do His Kingdom good when we constantly seek our own way? For indeed, there is no good thing apart from God!
Obedience is a part of being holy unto the Lord. It is a way to honor God and to demonstrate a healthy fear of the Lord. It is how faith and trust are put into action.
We want to be found on the right side of God.
We want to be partakers of His love and kindness.
We Can Walk in Obedience!
Many of us have never had to face a test of obedience like Esther, or Abraham, or David, or the three men of God, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. And many of us may never have to face such tests…
But the time is drawing near where each of us will have to answer a question: do we serve God, man, or our flesh?
When we serve our flesh, we receive the ‘reward’ of that: a fulfillment of our desires on earth that never fully satisfies and fails to bring eternal life.
When we serve man, we receive the ‘reward’ of that: a life filled with fear and falsehood as we try to please people who almost never can be fully pleased and which fails to bring eternal life.
Or we can serve God… the One who brings the dead to life. The One who directs our steps to His best and highest for us AND for His Kingdom! The One who provides not only blessing and favor on earth—even in the midst of trials—but who also brings to us eternal life!
“… ‘By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son—blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.’”—
Genesis 22:16-18
With God in us, we can overcome our flesh. We can say no to a fear of man and yes to the fear of God. We can walk in obedience, no matter the cost… trusting that God knows best. Knowing that the reward we will receive in heaven, and indeed, the many blessings of walking in alignment on earth, far outweigh any negatives we may consider or face…
If Christ is for us, who can be against us!?
Are you ready to walk in Godly obedience?
