AN ILLUSTRATION OF OUR LOVE FOR GOD!

The essence of a real relationship with Him is obedience. Obedience is about realising that it’s not about you but about God. Obedience is constant realisation that the God you serve knows what’s best for you and all you can do is only obey. You don’t have to like something or agree with it or for it to be easy for you in order to obey, it means even when you don’t like it or think you know best or it’s hard you still obey. That’s the life of a child of God, an obedient Christian. It is putting God first and you last. Pastor Hagee once shared the most amazing statement in one of his sermons, a statement that I believe is very important for every individual as it guides us towards what is and what should matter more about us being called Christians. He stated that “one is not a Christian (disciple) by believing only, but rather a Christian (disciple) by what you obey.” So let us be doers of the word of God, not just hearers of the word. To some this might not be their understanding of obedience or ideal explanation, but whether we like it or not we need to face this truth. For many Christians obedience is the hardest thing, mainly because it takes them out of their comfort zone, it forces them to listen and do.

Though no one likes to go through difficult times, the truth of the matter is that it is that pain and hardship that we go through that teaches us obedience, because honestly speaking when we disobey, in a way we are prolonging the difficult times. We need to be able to listen and pay attention to what God requires of us, we cannot expect to grow if we do not face hardships along the way. We have certain lesson to learn and some of the greatest lessons are through one of the hardest times in our lives, times where the easiest solution is just to give up instead of holding on. Obedience to the human mind most of the time is not ideal at all, as it sometimes requires us to make some huge sacrifices in order to do as God instructs us and for us as people that is very hard. Probably you have worked at this firm for years and now you just require quitting and packing your bags to a new destination. Thoughts go through your mind, thoughts like can I really succeed in this new adventure, do I have the abilities or talents to do this or maybe this is not for me. While you at it, the most dangerous thoughts come through your mind, maybe this is not God speaking, you question the order/command, and you are at the verge of wanting to find a greater and real reason why you should disobey.

These feelings are mainly brought on by the fear of change, fear of failure and security. The strange thing about this is,   that after such a long journey with our Saviour we forget one important thing, and that is He will never give you what is beyond your power and that when He asks you to do something He will also give you the ability and strength to do it. He is not on a mission of making sure you fail but the opposite, He is on a mission to grow you and make sure you succeed in life and become the best you can be.

When I speak of importance of obedience I refer also to the act of having an obedient mind, making sure that you avoid having a wondering mind, because we cannot run away from the truth that if your mind is disobedient then chances of an obedient life are very slim. Obedient mind is equal to an obedient life and vice versa. It is not a lie that God wants us to have a mind like Christ, a positive mind filled with God thoughts. Just as the famous saying goes “where the mind goes the man follows”, it is no secret that the devil attacks the mind and aims to paralyse it first. His second aim is to make sure that our minds (thoughts) control us and not God. Hence it is important to be filled with the Holy Spirit as He prompts you when you think wrong thoughts and reminds you of the word, so in a way the Spirit of God guides you in ensuring that you are obedient. We need to be committed to the agenda of our Father and nothing else should matter as much.

Obedience to God and His word is a true sign that you love Him and that you trust all that He instructs or demands of you. Obedience reveals your complete trust In God and that you fear God enough to do as He commands. This scripture clearly demonstrates that obedience is an act of love towards God and it clearly explains that obedience is not a once off thing but rather a continuous act towards God.

Obeying God is the core value of being a Christian, it’s an ingredient that brings you closer to your God and allows more intimacy. Through obedience God can speak to you as you are faithful enough to obey what He instructs of you, when He speaks you hear, listen and do as He commands. Obedience informs God that He can trust you, that He can share His secrets with you, just like friends do. This formation of friendship is God’s promise to all that obey Him and do as He commands. 

 

 “This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out His commands. 3 This is love for God: to obey His commands. And His commands are not burdensome,” John 5:2-3

When you obey someone, it’s more than just a mere act of respect, it’s about the love you possess for the individual. Our love for God should be evident and clearly shown through the way we honour His word. For God to know that we love Him, we need to obey His commandments, to allow His will to prevail in our lives. Saying you love God and supporting that statement with some good acts is not enough; it does not even begin to convince God that you love Him. All our God needs from us as proof that we care and love Him is if we obey His commands, because when we obey His commands we portray the complete trust we have in Him and as His word states nothing pleases God as a child that has absolute faith in Him. We need to realise that our God has feelings too, that what we do matters, He has these guidelines, laws or commands depending on how you define them in place for a specific reason. So, we need to stop thinking we know better and questioning His every move, every command, because of this very attitude towards the word of God, so many Christians now view His law as burdensome.
When you see something as a burden no matter how good it is for you, how much it can change your life, you will never experience the blessing of it. Why? Simply because you thought you knew better or didn’t give it a chance. We allow the devil to place thoughts in our mind, thoughts such as this is too hard, is it really necessary for God to say, no sex before marriage – I mean we are engaged, we basically married – it’s not like I’m sleeping around like other people-he loves me and we’re getting married next month or is it really necessary for Him to want us to love everyone, why should I waste my time loving someone who could care less about who I am or what I need – I give to the poor, love my family and friends.
When we go against His word, decide to sleep with that fiancé you get pregnant or that man decides he’s made a mistake; he leaves you and marries someone else. Now when things are all sour, all has gone completely the opposite in how you planned your life-no marriage in a month’s time, you are ashamed, humiliated, scared, and angry at the whole world. You are mostly likely to get trapped in a trap in which you blame the very same God you questioned before; you ask Him why He didn’t show you that the fiancé was fake, that he was not the man or a woman for you. You forget that you had your ears shut all the time and that your main focus was questioning God, so how could you have expected to hear anything when you were preoccupied with something else.
 
We basically allow ourselves to get in the trap of questioning the most excellent, perfect, genius, awesome, magnificent, holy God, a God who’s all knowing. All that God does is for our best, it is never in His plan to harm us or hurt us. He has the word, His word in place for our own benefit, our own safety, we are His first priority, and He loves us more than anything. Obeying His word should not be a battle for us, a battle where we prove that this His word contradicts with the other or it’s not fair. If we find it hard, as we will at times, He’s always there to assist us, to guide us and give us the strength to do His will. Our relationship should never be about debating His word and go on some ridiculous journey of proving some facts/truth but should rather be centred on loving Him and that’s through obedience.

SELAH!