Obedience

Obedience can be defined as submission to another's authority. It's not about following the rules or staying within a boundary. It's about trusting and believing in someone bigger than yourself and following them. Obedience recognizes that someone greater is in control, and knows better than you do. Ultimately, obedience is life giving.

I tried to be very obedient as a child. I wanted to do the right thing and wanted to do whatever it was that would please my parents. This worked out for me at times and not at others. I would often think I was obeying when really I was doing what I thought was just enough to make it seem like I had obeyed. Like when my mom would tell me to clean my room and bring the dirty clothes to the laundry room. So I picked up what was on the floor, threw what I could in my closet, perhaps slipped some things under the bed and then made a pile of dirty clothes on the floor. When questioned I might have answered something like, "Well I knew I would have more dirty clothes so I just figured I would wait." We don't get to add our own conditions when we think we know better. Thankfully, we serve a God who is perfect and unchanging. We can trust that what He has asked of us is exactly what we need to do, for our good and His glory. 

​My motive for obedience was not usually pure and I know that I struggle with this in my relationship with God as well. I want blessings and multiple positive affirmations to follow my obedience and that is not usually the case. At least not immediately. So then the question becomes, do I still strive for obedience or do I go my own way? I have lived enough life (and read enough scripture) to know that obedience will always be better than whatever scheme or plan I can write up. The next question may be, what does obedience look like? That is a hard question to answer because it is different for everyone. The one thing that is the same is that in order to be obedient we must listen. Obedient children listen to their parents. Obedient students listen to their teachers. Obedient Christians listen to God. God speaks in many different ways and if you are new to listening to God, I would suggest you start with reading scripture.  

One of my favorite stories of obedience in the bible comes from Genesis with the story of Abraham and his dear son, Isaac. Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born. God had promised Abraham regarding Isaac and almost as soon as the promise is fulfilled, God tells Abraham to go up to the mountain to sacrifice his son. Abraham's obedience is astounding. His obedience is immediate.

"So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him." Genesis 22:3

The next verse reveals some even greater obedience in my opinion.

"On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar." Genesis 22:4

THREE DAYS! Abraham journeyed three days with his son and his servants and never turned back. I don't know about you but I'm not so sure I wouldn't have turned around halfway through this journey. Or at least stopped for a day to pray and be sure this is really what God said. Abraham had such faith in God to believe that this trip was worth it. And we see his faith in the next verse as well.

​"Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you." Genesis 22:5

​Abraham did not know how, but trusted and believed that somehow God would allow he AND Isaac to return. And God did just that. He provides a ram for Abraham to sacrifice instead of his son. 
Have you ever followed in obedience with no idea what that might even look like a few steps down the road? Obedience doesn't always mean we have a 3 year plan to follow. It means saying yes to God. Period. You may not have immediate answers or explanations to tell your friends. God's not concerned with how you will explain yourself to the world. Abraham had to answer to his son when he pressed him with the question of "Ugh, dad, this is kind of weird but you don't actually have anything to sacrifice." (my paraphrase) Abraham didn't have a very clear answer except to say "God will provide". This says, God I trust you beyond a shadow of a doubt. It speaks to Abraham's faith regardless of the circumstances or uncertainties. We read this and can trust that God will provide for us when we act in obedience. If obedience means saying yes to something your budget currently can't support, God will provide. If obedience means filling your schedule so much that there is no margin, God will provide. What a beautiful picture of obedience we have to follow. 

In 1 Samuel 15, Saul is told by God through Samuel to destroy Amalek, all of it, leaving nothing untouched. But when they went, they "spared Agag and the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fattened calves and the lambs and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them." 1 Samuel 15:9

Saul legitimately thought he did what the Lord asked, and was obedient. 

​"I have obeyed the voice of the Lord." 1 Samuel 15:20

This may be hard to swallow, but 99% obedience is just a feel good way of being disobedient (ouch). 

​He then blames the people for not destroying the livestock, claiming they were going to sacrifice these to the Lord. (1 Samuel 15:21)

Samuel reminds him that God is not concerned with our sacrifices but instead our obedience.

See, obedience is about relationship. God wants relationship with us and part of that is our obedience to Him. Saul repents and recognizes that the reason for his disobedience was "because I feared the people and obeyed their voice." 1 Samuel 15:24

Who are you obeying?
Who do you fear?

Obedience is better than sacrifice, but obedience may require sacrifice. Obedience may mean that you look a little crazy to the world.

In Genesis, God told Noah to build a giant ark while the sun was shining and there were blue skies. He probably looked a little crazy to those watching. The craziest part to me isn't that he built the ark, but that he and his family lived in the ark for SEVEN days while it wasn't raining. Regardless of what others thought, "Noah did this, he did all that God commanded him." Genesis 6:22
Noah feared the Lord, not the people. His belief in God was strong enough to know that God could be taken at His word. Both to save Noah and his family, while also destroying the rest of the world.

​With all of the media we are pounded with daily, people have noticed that it is good to take a break from this every once in a while. It is now more common for people to take time away from apps like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter in order to clear their heads or maybe just get some time back. Though you may hear of this more often, this is countercultural. Some do this because they just can't take the comparison battle they fight every time they log in, but others do it out of obedience to the Lord. This might look a little crazy to the world. This is an example that may be more visible to others, but I think that one of the hardest parts about obedience is that most times, no one has any clue you are being obedient except for God himself. Obedience requires humility. 

"Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you." 1 Peter 5:6

My final encouragement to you is that you don't confuse obedience with compliance or conformity. Compliance can be defined as behavior influenced by peers, and conformity can be defined as behavior intended to match the majority. We know from Romans 12:2 that we are not to conform to the world but be transformed by the renewing of our mind. The only way to be obedient is to listen to the one you want to show obedience. Your friends and family can't tell you how God has asked you to be obedient. Only God can speak to this. Will you listen? Will you respond?

I hope that you will consider your journey with the Lord and how He has asked you to be obedient today. Maybe your next step needs to be time alone (truly alone, without distractions) with God seeking to listen for his voice. It may be that you need to say yes to what you know God has spoken in your life. Or it could be that you need to stay faithful in obedience regardless of how hard the journey may feel or unclear it may seem. Wherever you are, know that God honors obedience and asks it of you so that you may be sanctified and blessed. 

Thanks for reading and remember, never stop growing.

**UPDATE**
I started this blog because I enjoy writing and it helps me process and learn. I also think that God has given me a voice and I want a place to share that voice to a greater crowd. Writing for this blog is never easy. Most times, I think it's stupid because no one reads them anyway. A few weeks ago one of my friends who is also in my life bible study class at church shared with me that she read one of my posts and God used it. She affirmed me in my writing and told me, "Keep doing it. Keep being obedient." And so I did, I wrote on obedience! Ha. As I was writing this post I used my preparations to share with the teachers at my school during our weekly devotional time. The devotion was only 10 minutes long and did not require the lengthy preparations I had made, but I thought it would be good to write a post about it as well so my study was more in depth. The devotion went great and the feedback was positive. I was a little sad that I was only able to share a portion of what I had learned. Then I finished this post and sent it out to the girls in my class hoping they might benefit from it.

And then Sunday happened. We were standing around waiting for our bible study to start and our teacher had yet to show up. The director started to panic and asked a few leaders if they had something they could teach. I spoke up (shocker) and said sure! Let's face it, I always have something to say. But in reality, I was so confident because I was so convinced that our teacher would eventually show up and I wouldn't be needed anyway. That never happened. So as time kept turning, I started fumbling through my notes trying to figure out what I would say. I thought I might share what I had learned in a previous bible study, but the notes were no where to be found. Notes I might add that I had just taken on Wednesday. So as I'm flipping through my journal I see my notes on obedience. Duh! Of course this is what I will teach. I have pages of notes, in unruly order, and scripture to back it up. Wow. Look at God. I couldn't believe it, but then, yes I could, because God. He was preparing me for this. If I would not have been obedient in writing this post, my opportunity to teach would have either been a disaster or non-existent. I loved teaching my class and am so thankful God allowed me to do that. 

I tell you that testimony to help you see that God doesn't make empty promises. Will you trust Him even with something small today, or tomorrow, and pray for eyes to see it? I'm believing He will do it.