When we read the word of God, we can take so much from it. I have for a while really been tuned in to the journey of the Israelites. I definitely have learned my obedience/disobedience from them. In all that God wanted to do for them and the many ways he desired to bless them, it was rerouted often because of their disobedience.
Deuteronomy 6:3
Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you.
God promised them increase, prosperity, health, wealth and more and what He asked from them in return, is obedience.
Obedience is the act of complying and within that compliance, is a choice. What seems sometimes as the most dangerous game of Russian Roulette is having a choice, because we are often disobedient in our choosing.
God wants to give some of us some blessings, but we tie His hands. How? Because we won’t be obedient. How can He bless your journey if you won’t take the steps to get where He is telling you to go? How can He bless and multiply your finances, if you are not obedient to what He is telling you to do with it? God is not obligated to bless anything out of His will.
Sometimes God can ask us to do some real out of the box things. In those moments we may fear. Not that we don’t have faith in God, but we may just have a fear of what someone is going to say or how we will be perceived. Having the support around helps.
Over in 2 Kings 5:10-11 when Naaman went to the man of God to be healed of his leprosy, Elisha told him to go wash himself 7 times in the Jordan. Naaman thought the man of God was foolish because he did not come in the way that Naaman had expected. When Naaman’s servant finally got him to be obedient to the instruction before him, not only was he healed, but God was glorified. Naaman says in 2 Kings 5:15 “Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel…
Your obedience brings glory to God
Thank God Naaman had believers around him to encourage him to have faith in what the man of God was saying. But what about when we are the only ones standing for the name of the Lord. How does our obedience look then?
When God told Noah to build the ark, even when everyone around him thought he was out of his mind, Noah had to make the choice to comply with what the Lord was telling him to do. Could you imagine if he would have said no if he would have decided to comply with the direction the world felt he should move in rather than what God instructed him to do? What would scripture look like?
Can I encourage you in that no matter what those around you say, be obedient to what God is calling for you to do anyway. Some of us have some goals or plans that the Lord has set before us, but we are too busy letting people talk us out of them. If not actual people, then the enemy. He is sitting on you shoulder right now, trying to convince you that you look stupid and that no one is going to support you. Sometimes you just have to gone and tell the devil to shut it on up.
There was a storm coming that no one could see but God, and because Noah was obedient, even when he looked stupid to people, God blessed him. God’s vision is so much better than ours. His view is an ariel view. He can see what’s around the corner and down the street. Go pray for that person God is telling you to pray for. Invest that money where God is telling you to. Start the ministry. Build the business. If God led you to it he will bless it. But your obedience is needed.
In Luke 5:5 Peter had been out all night and had not caught anything. He says we have worked hard and have seen nothing happen. But then he tells the Lord because you say so, I will do it. Our faith may not be perfect, but it has to be over everything. Faith over uncertainty, faith over fear, faith over naysayers, faith over insecurities. Because just like Peter, when God steps into the situation, there is a shift. There is a ‘because you say so’ moment that needs to happen. Because now we know that the God of overflow and abundance, the all mighty God has out backs.
Why is it that we have such a hard time being obedient. We know that fear is definitely a part of that. I heard someone say something the other day that was true. They said, we treats Gods instructions like they are suggestions. How many of us in here are guilty of this very thing?
God laid it on my heart to get up around 5 am in the mornings to read and pray. Of course, my first thought was God you got the wrong the number. I think you called me by mistake. No really though, I knew it would be hard, but I definitely wasn’t going to tell God no. From those 5 am mornings I have gotten so much revelation and spiritual blessings. Blessings not just for me, but for my family. God knew what I needed. I had to let Him rearrange my schedule.
Let me tell you that your actions don’t only affect your, your obedience ain’t just for you, but they are for your children and your children’s children, your obedience has the power to bless generations. Think about it. Financially, spiritually, health wise. Moses’s obedience blessed a entire nation.
God is already calling you what you shall be. Not necessarily who you are now, but who you are to become. He called Abraham the father of nations before he was even a father, but in order for the promises of God to come to pass, in order for Abraham’s seed to be blessed, Abraham had to be obedient to the instruction of the Lord. Abraham had one son by Sarah which was the line that God said would be blessed. Can you imagine the amount of crazy faith that Abraham had to have to be willing to sacrifice this one son that God was going to carry this promise through?
God has called some of us to be more than what we think is possible, but are we willing to severe some things in obedience to him. Are we willing to let go and give God full control?
Noah had to pick up a hammer.
Moses threw down his staff and picked up a snake.
Peter casted a net.
Your blessing is in your obedience. What is God instructing you to do? Are you taking it as a suggestion? And what can you do today, to take a step towards obedience?
Originally Published March 22, 2021