When I was a kid, the thing I struggled with most was obeying my parents and what they said. I was somewhat of a rebel child and still haven't gotten rid of that reputation. Eventually, (through enough times of being grounded and privileges revoked) I learned that if I obeyed, I wouldn't get in trouble and it wasn't near as bad as I thought it to be. Obeying God is the same way. If we obey God as He calls us to, it eases our mental burden, as opposed to disobeying, and it always ends up benefitting us as well. I think that the 21st-century church struggles most with this task, myself included.
The word obedience is a funny word to me. At the very center of this word is a smaller but more powerful word, "die". At the heart of obedience is dying to ourselves. Laying down our desires, passions, pursuits, and aspirations to pick up the Cross of Jesus Christ and chasing after Him is the foundation of obedience. A love for Jesus brings about a desire to follow the commands He has set in place for us to follow. Obedience to God requires dying to self and embracing what He has for you.
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Obedience isn't a single action. It's a continued attitude. Walking in obedience includes listening to what God says for you to do. It could be something small like Him telling you to encourage someone or it could be something like Him saying for you to share the gospel with a person you've never met before. Obedience in the small things leads to being tasked with bigger things (Luke 16;10).
If we're being honest, writing this is convicting for me. I try my best to obey what God has called me to do but I'm not always as obedient as I'm called to be. Maybe you're like me in that aspect and you're not as obedient as you'd like to be. Take heart! God hasn't called us to be perfect in everything, just willing. My prayer is that we learn to walk in an attitude of obedience to Jesus, our King, to whatever He has called us. Much love and God bless.
