The Lesson of Obedience

As promised on my social media, here is a new blog post. Lately, I have been really focusing on my devotions and allowing God to speak to me and tell me what he wants me to learn. After much prayer and study, God revealed that he is wanting me to learn Obedience and I would like to share that with you.

Now I would consider myself a pretty obedient person, considering that I am obedient in my workplace, school, and church. Why then is God wanting me to learn obedience? I firmly believe that He is trying to show me full obedience. Even though we obey, we could still have the wrong attitude and not show full obedience in that area. So to apply this lesson to my life, I have found some examples of full obedience in the Bible.

The first example I have is Isaiah. One of his first acts of obedience is when he declares willingly that he is ready to do God's will and to be sent wherever God would send him...

"Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me." (Isaiah 6:8 KJV)

Isaiah was fully ready to do what God was calling him to do. He didn't know what God had planned just yet, but he acted in full obedience by saying, "Here am I; send me." By this statement, Isaiah was showing God his joyful willingness to do his will. No questions asked! That tells me that next time I am given something, I should be willing to do it -- no questions asked. The next example I have is that of Hosea...

" The beginning of the word of the LORD by Hosea. And the LORD said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the LORD." (Hosea 1:2 KJV)

Hosea was commanded by God to marry a prostitute. Back in those days and even in our current day in age, that would be hard task and often would be judged by others. Who would want to marry a prostitute?! Knowing that everyday your spouse would reject you, but being committed to them anyways takes a lot of love and courage. Despite the differing view of society and knowing that his wife would be unfaithful, Hosea once again willingly obeyed God's command. No questions asked!

Wow! Okay so there is one more example I would like to present. In the book of Genesis there is another faithful servant of the Lord who became the Father of all nations. Abraham was faced with a task no one would be willing to complete...

"And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of." (Genesis 22:1-2 KJV)

God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his son on an altar on the mount of Moriah. If you continue reading in later verses, He doesn't make Abraham go through with this request, but gives a ram to be sacrificed instead of his son. This story paints a perfect picture of Salvation and what Jesus did for us. Abraham did not know why he was asked to sacrifice his son, whom God had given him, but he trusted Him anyway. I marvel at the faith Abraham showed in trusting God with something so precious to him.

Observing all that we learned, full obedience requires trust, a willingness, and faithfulness. Next time we are given a task or command, we can remember these stories. I Challenge you to resemble these great heroes in the bible and obey with full obedience. I myself will also be taking on this challenge and praying into what more God wants me to learn. :)

In my experience, whenever you take a step towards holiness you reap joy and peace and never look back to your old self. Is that something you would like to experience? What are you willing to let go of to allow God to work in you? Are you wiling to obey His commandments and requests? We are not perfect, but the amazing thing is that God loves us so much that He is willing to help us get rid of our imperfections and change us.

- Alexandria