An Attitude of Obedience

         What does it mean to be obedient? Is it just doing what someone says or asks because they want you to? Or is it doing what they say or ask because you love, honor, and respect them and desire to show it through your actions? What does it mean to be obedient to God? If we are not currently being obedient to Him, how do we become obedient? What does true obedience to God look like in your life?

         In my own opinion I am not qualified to answer these questions as I struggle to learn how to answer them myself. However, God has given us the guidelines to this profound and sometimes difficult-to-grasp concept in His own words through the Bible. Every point I make in this article will be supported by scripture so that I may only boast in Christ who saves and inspires us through his teachings. As it says in Galatians 6:14, “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”

         I am learning more about obedience each day as God speaks to me more and more. He speaks to me through His word and through various Christian resources that I have come across. One important lesson I am learning is that obedience to God is a daily choice and effort that we must make and work towards. Obedience to anything or anyone does not come naturally to us. So we need supernatural power to help us overcome our natural state of weakness.

         Luckily, with God’s Holy Spirit and intervention this supernatural power towards obedience is attainable to all believers. As it says in 2 Corinthians 12:9, “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” It also says in 2 Corinthians 4:11-12, “For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.”

         Obedience is a daily walk and we can not walk it alone. It says in 2 Corinthians 4:16, “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.” So do not be discouraged, 2 Corinthians 5:4-5 says, “For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit guaranteeing what is to come.”

         Here is the main point according to 2 Corinthians 5:9, “So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.” Our goal as a believer is to please God in all we do, wherever we are. That’s a big goal to strive for, but with His help we can do it. So how do we please God and how do we obey? All of Psalm 119 is full of good guidelines for how we can obey and please God. We should: learn God’s commands, meditate on them, be strengthened by them, learn them from God, set our hearts on them, hold onto them, run in the path of them, receive His understanding of them, delight in them, love them, praise Him, be sustained in Him, and He will seek us (Psalm 119:7, 15, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 47, 175, 176).

         So now that we know what obedience is and how we go about pursuing it, only one questions remains-why? Why should we obey? We should obey His commands if we are really His friends. John 15:14 says, “You are my friends if you do what I command.” We should obey His command to love each other.  John 15:12 & 17 says this, “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” And verse 17 says this, “This is my command: Love each other.”

         What are the benefits of obedience to God? There are many benefits of obeying God and his commands. All of John chapter 15 talks about the commands that God gives us and the benefits of obeying those commands. Two times in John chapter 15 it mentions the benefit of asking God for anything you wish and receiving it. John 15:7 & 16 say, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” Verse 16 says, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.”

         Another benefit of obedience to God is that we will bear much fruit. John 15:5 says, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” We will also be shown to the world as His disciples. John 15:8 says, “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” Whether or not we are seen as qualified in the world’s eyes, we are seen as disciples to the world in God’s eyes. We are His hands and feet here on earth and he wants us to show it!

         Another great benefit of godly obedience is that we will be loved by Him and remain in His love. It says in John 15: 10, “If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in His love.” The final benefit of obedience to the Lord is that our joy may be complete. It says in John 15:11, “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.”

         So not only does God command us to obey and give us benefits in return, He also rewards obedience through the blessings He gives. He blesses us by loving, satisfying, helping, protecting, and upholding us (according to Psalm 63). Even though we don’t deserve it, He gives us His grace, love, and mercy every day. His blessings are too numerous to count and just think: the more we obey, the more benefits and blessings we will receive. Then the better and closer our relationship will be with God.

         So after personally fighting obedience to God most of my life as a believer, I’m now learning to obey. I’m also learning to gladly receive His benefits, blessings, and His close relationship in my life. Praise be to the God who commands, gives benefits, and blesses our obedience! Amen! He is mighty and able!

Written By: Crystal Marie on Feb. 19, 2011