God Smiles When We Obey - July 24, 2013

Genesis 6:22
22 So Noah did everything exactly as God had commanded him.

Psalms 100:2
2 Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before him, singing with joy.

Psalms 119:33
33 Teach me your decrees, O Lord; I will keep them to the end.

James 2:24
24 So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone.

If God asked you to build a giant boat, don't you think you might have a few questions, objections, and reservations? Noah didn't. He obeyed God wholeheartedly and built a huge boat when the world had never seen rain.

Obedience means doing whatever God asks without reservation or hesitation. You don't procrastinate and say, "I'll pray about it." You do it without delay. Every parent knows that delayed obedience is really disobedience.

Often we try to offer God partial obedience. We want to pick and choose the commands we obey. We make a list of the commands we like and obey those while ignoring the ones we think are unreasonable, difficult, expensive, or unpopular. "I'll attend church but I won't tithe.' "I'll read my Bible but I won't forgive the person who hurt me.' Yet partial obedience is disobedience.

Wholehearted obedience is done joyfully with enthusiasm. The Bible says, "Obey him gladly." (Psalm 100:2 LB) This is the attitude of David: "Just tell me what to do and I will do it, Lord. As long as I live I'll wholeheartedly obey." (Psalm 119:33 LB)

James, speaking to Christians, said, "We please God by what we do and not only by what we believe." (James 2:24 CEV) God's Word is clear that you can't earn your salvation. It comes only by grace, not your effort. But as a child of God you can bring pleasure to your heavenly Father through obedience.

God was so specific with His instructions that Noah couldn't have made a mistake unless he chose to. I feel as if he still would've obeyed if he hadn't known about the flood. Sometimes it's hard to follow His commands, not knowing his intentions. But we need to overcome that barrier of faith, for the greater purpose in which we entrust God with. I like how it shared that partial obedience is disobedience. Either you're all in or not. I think asking ourselves everyday keeps ourselves on pace with God.