Committed to Obedience
May 2005
A few days ago, I asked my husband's
advice on which pair of shoes looked
best with a particular outfit. In
the back of my mind, I already knew
which pair I was going to wear but
I asked anyway. This frustrated my
husband. Now he doesn't always give
me his opinion. I get upset when he
clams up but I completely understand
why. Often, He will just say in a
huff, "Why are you asking me.
You are going to do what you want
to do anyway!" I wonder how often
we do this same thing to God. We ask
for His opinion while knowing full
well that we plan to stick with our
own. Yes, we will follow Him but only
when and if his prescription will
be comfortable to follow and will
closely match our own desires. We
only plan to obey it if it is convenient.
However, if we want to continue to
keep the lines of communication open
and flourishing between ourselves
and God, we must commit to obey Him.
Obedience is the key that keeps the
door open to us hearing His still
small voice. The prophet Habakkuk
anticipated what God would say to
him and how he was going to respond
when He heard God's voice. He said,
"I will stand on my guard post
and station myself on the rampart;
and I will keep watch to see what
He will speak to me and how I may
reply when I am reproved." (Habakkuk
2:1) Habakkuk is not only passionate
about hearing God's direction but
he is already considering what the
appropriate response to it will be.
He is preparing Himself to obey. He
is thinking ahead and preparing Himself
to respond to God's word appropriately.
In fact the Hebrew word for reprove
is towkechah. It means to correct,
punish or chastise. This means that
Habakkuk anticipated that God's word
to him would include a rebuke or something
that would be hard to hear yet He
is committed to obedience. How do
you most usually plan to respond to
God's word even when you anticipate
that it may be something that you
do not want to hear? Do you consider
it, ignore it, weigh your options
or just move forward in obedience?
When we do not obey God's word to
us, we set ourselves up for God's
judgment. To know God's word and not
obey it is sin against Him (James
4:17).
Sin reaps consequences. On the other
hand, when we commit to obeying God
we can expect extreme blessing and
God's supernatural activity in our
lives. I have recently become friends
with a woman who can always give examples
of how the Lord has done supernatural
things for she and her family. One
day while eating lunch with her, we
talked about why some believers seemingly
experience the power of God more often
then others. She told me that she
knows why she experiences it: she
is committed to obeying God's leading
no matter how absurd His instructions
may be. Obedience lays the foundation
for God to work miraculously. As I
listened, it occurred to me how many
missed opportunities to see God's
greatness there must have been when
I didn't want to make the time or
energy to obey. There have been many
times that God has asked me to do
something that I thought was too crazy
to consider. Yet in ignoring His leading
I have often missed out on the supernatural
and glorious results that He had planned
if I had just obeyed His instructions.
Recently, my youngest son Jerry Jr.
was ill. He went to bed coughing and
sneezing. I gave him some medicine
but it was really difficult for him
to sleep. I kept waking up throughout
the night as he wheezed and coughed.
I went to check on him several times
and kept coming back to bed. At 4am,
I was awakened not by coughing but
by the Spirit of God. He encouraged
me to go back upstairs to the nursery
and lay a hand on my son and pray
for his healing. I debated these instructions
for at least 10 minutes. I had just
gotten back in my warm bed next to
my husband and I was sleepy. I didn't
feel like going all the way back up
those stairs. As I debated with the
Lord, the conversation I had with
my friend came flooding back to me.
Could it be that the supernatural
intervention that God had planned
for my son hinged on whether or not
I would obediently follow His simple
instructions? I finally got up and
went to my son's room. I laid my hands
on him and prayed for God's healing.
I poured Scriptures over Him that
reminded of God's promises. After
a few moments I went back downstairs.
I heard one final cough from him on
my way and then . . . nothing. He
slept soundly for the rest of the
night. The next morning my husband
asked me if I had given him some medicine
in the middle of the night. I told
him that I hadn't and asked him why
He asked that question. He said, "After
you went up there, the coughing stopped.
I thought you must have given him
some cough medicine." I responded,
"Yes, I gave him some medicine
alright!" I wonder what supernatural
and divine interventions are awaiting
all of us if we will just make a commitment
to obedience to God in every situation.
"If only you had paid attention
to my commands, your peace would have
been like a river, your righteousness
like the waves of the sea." Isaiah
48:18
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