Hey! I’m so happy to be here to talk about something that has come up a lot lately and as I thought about whether or not I should talk about it, I received a sort of confirmation (not that I need it) that I should speak on this subject.
I said to myself, am I the person to talk about this or should I leave this to the experts? I am sometimes hesitant to talk about some of the subjects or topics of conversation that crosses my path. I often wondered why so many women would call me or come into my office just to have a conversation that soon turns into either a venting session or a biblical counseling session. It doesn’t always start with prayer, but I certainly ponder over what is bothering people and I bring it to the Lord to seek His advice and counsel on the matter.
Do I give out the counsel of the Lord to that person? It depends, but recently, I had a conversation with an awesome young lady who I appreciate so much and she brought up the subject again. So, I said to myself, “Self?" Myself said, ""hmm?" I said "maybe we should talk about this."
So here I am. What is this topic of conversation that has always led to me speaking about it to others?
OBEDIENCE to the Lord. On this particular day when the young lady called me, she was speaking of her own life and how she was not sure of the path she should take. She had some missteps and has been knocked off her faith game a little bit because of it. I encouraged her, but first I just wanted to listen to her heart and see what she was really saying underneath everything else she was trying to convey.
She said to me, “When I was about to make a decision, I heard your voice telling me to ask the Holy Spirit and do what He is telling you”. I laughed. It is mostly what I say to those who come for my advice. I believe no advice is better than the counsel of the Lord through His Word and by His Spirit.
I am finding though, with some people, they don’t study the Word or have a love for the holy scriptures, so they seek outside of themselves and ask others. It’s a form of laziness. I also believe that there are those who know the Word by letter only and will not actively obey the Word. Being hearers only and not doers – they find themselves with no real breakthrough and therefore they seek the easy way out by going to those they believe are in tuned with God. Not saying that I am all that in tune, but I do seek Him and I know His voice, and I love His Word.
Is obedience the real issue or is it something deeper in the heart? So, let’s deal with it.
What is obedience and why is obedience necessary to a successful life in God?
According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, obedience is defined as - an act or instance of obeying; it also a sphere of jurisdiction. In the book of Genesis God gave mankind a mandate for life here on this planet and He said,
"Now let Us conceive a new creation—humanity—made in Our image, fashioned according to Our likeness. And let Us grant them authority over all the earth—the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, the domesticated animals and the small creeping creatures on the earth. So God did just that. He created humanity in His image, created them male and female. Then God blessed them and gave them this directive: “Be fruitful and multiply. Populate the earth. I make you trustees of My estate, so care for My creation and rule over the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that roams across the earth."
"Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant that grows on the earth and every fruit-bearing tree. They will be your food and nourishment. As for all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, and every small creeping creature—everything that breathes the breath of life—I have given them every green plant for food." And it happened just as God said. Then God surveyed everything He had made, savoring its
beauty and appreciating its goodness. Evening gave way to morning . That was day six. (Genesis 1:26-31 - The Voice)
It was a beautiful thing that God created in giving mankind the earth to steward, but He gave it with directions/instruction. Why do you think that was? Man could not steward the earth without God in the way God originally fashioned it because He never had an earth to steward before. God had to give him/them instructions, and in order to have what He gave them – that is dominion (stewardship) they needed to follow what He said. That was the first act of obedience of mankind.
Now we know what happened when man sinned or disobeyed the instructions of God, they were separated from Him and hence the plan of God for a second Man – second Adam to come and walk in complete obedience in order to sacrifice His obedient life so that we can live with God obediently again. In scripture, the word obedience is listed in the NIV 38 times. The premise of obedience is from this base scripture for my life and it is this Deuteronomy 5:33 which reads,
“Walk in obedience to all that the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess.”
In KJV it reads “Ye shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and
that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess.”
That is a powerful scripture and one that I base my life upon. Where is obedience in the NT? It is listed 12 in the NIV Version. In this context, the scripture which brings my heart joy is in 2 John 1:6 which says, “
And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.”
In Deuteronomy chapter 5 it means in God’s moral administration or manner, or way. In 2 John it means the standard according to which one governs his life. The bible says in 1 John 4:8 that God is love. If we obey His Word then love for him is made complete in us. This is how we know him.
This is how we know that we love the people of God: by loving God and carrying out His commands for they are not burdensome (1 John5:2-3).
So can we say that the real issue is a heart issue? I'll talk about it on the next blog. Until then...