Do you struggle with obeying God?
Have you ever struggled with obedience?
Yes? Then let me encourage you, you are not alone.
Obedience can be challenging. As Christians, we all desire to obey God at all times, but we can find ourselves weak when it comes to fighting our fleshly desires and often, prideful hearts. But let me reassure you, faith-fuelled obedience is possible, by the grace of God.
The story of Jonah
Whenever I think of obedience, I think of the story of Jonah.
Jonah was given a clear instruction: go to Nineveh and preach repentance (Jonah 1:2). Instead of obeying and going straight to Nineveh, he went to Joppa to board a ship to the city of Tarshish. Jonah disobeyed God. He was afraid, angry and prideful.
I can relate to Jonah, and admittedly, have acted like him on so many occasions. To the extent where sometimes I’m left wondering why God continues to bring me to these situations when most of the time I only disobey Him.
Why we disobey God
There can be many reasons why we disobey. We may be scared, confused, angry. The list goes on. Our flesh can also fight against obedience because of pride. We have prideful hearts that think we know best. So instead of listening to God's word, or his prompts, we do what we want.
How obeying God shows our love for Him
God’s love language is obedience.
“And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands…” 2 John 1:6
Love languages are the ways that we show and receive love to/from those around us. God sees our obedience as a way for us to be closer to Him. To love and be loved by Him. He shows us how we can give Him our love by asking for us to obey His commands. He in return is glorified by our acts of obedience. In some cases our obedience to Him is a huge catalyst for the Gospel. Even the smallest act of obedience could lead someone to Christ and change their life on earth and eternity.
In chapter 15 of John, Jesus tells his disciples, and us, that “If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.” John 15:10.
Jesus is saying that when we obey Him and His commands, we build on our relationship with Him, just as He did with the Father.
God is not going to put us through something for no reason, He always has a plan.
Whether He wants to teach us something or wants us to grow closer to Him. We can hold on to verses such as Romans 8:28 where it says “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose”, to help us in times where we might be struggling to make sense of what God might be doing.
Grace to obey
Allow me to reassure you, you can say yes to God and move forward in obedience.
You need the grace of God.
Grace is an unearned, undeserved favour of God. It enables us to do what we normally wouldn’t be able to do. In our own strength, we would keep missing the mark, but by grace, we can do all things.
If you’re struggling to obey God, ask him for the grace to do so. Believe that you receive it and discover how much easier obedience becomes.
