Acts 5:29 declares: “We ought to obey God rather than men.” Matthew 8:27 tells us that even the winds and the sea obey Him! Mark 1:27 informs us about unclean spirits obeying His authority. Obedience to the Lord is so important. It’s a prerequisite to “Spirit-filled” living because God gives the Holy Spirit to those who obey Him.
Face it; as you look around our country, cities, and neighborhoods, obedience to Jesus Christ is not the ‘norm’. In fact, independence and exaltation of self are prevailing philosophies of society. My fear is that either individual believers or the church as a whole will get snared by this thinking. Nature obeys Jesus! Demons obey Jesus! It frustrates me to know that a part of me (self and flesh) refuses to obey Jesus.
I know that a part of my victory lies in pulling down those strongholds and imaginations that oppose God‘s ways, and replacing the garbage with God’s truth. Walking in truth means obeying the truth, which will result in joyous freedom.
Practical application of ‘thus saith the Lord’ is Christian theology in action. It’s the rational response of a servant-Master relationship. His title is “Lord”; that’s how I relate to Him. He knows best and loves us so much. I’m confident that my Father has nothing but my best interests in mind behind any command, warning, or promise in Scripture.
Let us pray that our Father will give us those obedient ears spoken of in Proverbs 25:12. May our Lord Jesus make us “willing and obedient” as noted in Isaiah 1:19; and may the Holy Spirit give us understanding of Hebrews 5:8, which tells us how Jesus “learned obedience by the things which He suffered.”
By faith Abraham obeyed. That’s the same pattern for you and me. Though faith is very REASONABLE, at times it’s not very LOGICAL. God speaks, we obey. Simple enough? “To obey is better than sacrifice”, and obedience to God leads to holiness. Yielding to the Holy Spirit in obedience will result in purity of soul.
Through Jesus we have been set free to obey. It’s not a chore or a duty, for “I delight to do Thy will, O Lord.”
