nov 22 friday

Biblical Obedience: Love + Trust + Action

Today, the word obey has a negative connotation. We view obedience as a forced, unwilling decision to do something we don't want to do because we're afraid of punishment.

But that's not the kind of obedience that's in God's Word. Obedience in the Bible means this: love + trust + action.

It starts with love, as Jesus said in John 14:15, "If you love me, you will obey what I command." (NIV) Obedience comes from knowing that God loves you and you love him in return.

A lot of people think obedience is about fearing God, but God wants us to see obedience to him as a relationship of love. And out of love comes trust. If you trust what God is saying to you, and you believe that he loves you, then that will lead to action.

You need to have all three because action without love is just rote religion. And love without action is just mere talk.

Gonna be a bit of a jerk, I'll just finish this devotion right now.

It is true that a lot of people assume that obedience is something forceful and that if you don't obey, you'll receive punishment. Even I have to admit, I even think that at times. But God doesn't want us to be obeying him like that. He wants us to obey him by loving him, trusting him, and take action for him. He wants us to not only do what he wants us to do, but to do it willingly. He first wants us to love him, so we can do what he wants without an ill will. Then, he wants us to trust him, so we can obey him without any doubts. Finally, it is when we take action to do what he wants. Therefore, he doesn't want you to obey him without love or doubt, he wants us to have a healthy relationship with him. So don't assume that God wants us to just do what he wants us to do, he wants to have a healthy relationship between him and you.

I often think obedience is a forced thing. When someone tells me to obey them when I dont want to I just feel annoyed and unwilling. I need to keep in mind that we obey God not because we fear him, but because we love him and know he loves us and he is perfect. That means anything he tells us to do will lead us in the right path because he is sovereign and all knowing.

What I learned from the devo:
Obedience to God should be a result of loving Him to the point of surrendering your own decisions and thoughts for His will. This can only be done with trust that He truly cares for us and loves us beyond what we can comprehend. Together with love and trust, our actions are changed to listen to God's guidance and instruction.

Obedience is DEFINITELY one of the biggest things that I have to work on in terms of my relationship with God.
I always have seen obedience as something one does if they're inferior, and if that person is ruled over by an authority. I guess in the context of our relationship with God, this is true, but not in the negative meaning that one may associate with it, if this concept is not properly understood. I realize God puts rules, and restrictions for our sake, to save our relationship with Him so we won't wander far away from Him, because of sin. Obedience comes into play when we decide to say "yes" to what God has for us. Obedience leads us to where God wants us to go. I think obedience puts us into the right direction with God, it puts us in the path God wants us to go down in our lives. So I think when we obey God, His commands, and what God is telling us through prayer or perhaps through warning signs, then it means we're going down the path that God desires us to.
God always knows what's best or us, even though at times on may be so stubborn and refuse to believe it. It's an undeniable truth. God knew how our lives where going to play out even before he created us. God loves us immensely, and it's frustrating to me that I can't even understand/comprehend that fully. I saw a quote before that said, "God loves us more in a moment, than anyone EVER could in a lifetime". This kind of put things into perspective for me. God loves us that much in a mere second. He knows what's best for us, and I think obedience can help us into trusting God, and knowing that He has the right plan for our lives. *Surrender.

6 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.
2 John 1:6