“I am about to go the way of all the earth,” he said. “So be strong, show yourself a man, and observe what the LORD your God requires: Walk in his ways, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and requirements, as written in the Law of Moses, so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go.” 1 Kings 2:2-3 (NIV)
“If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever-- the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” John 14:15-18 (NIV)
Obedience gets a bad rap in our day in time, Amen? Nobody wants to be told what to do. People are tending more and more towards what is “right in their own eyes” – big mistake. Who made us God, even over our own puny lives? God has a way for all of us to walk in which is good and pleasing and perfect. We are definitely the losers when we neglect such riches as so great a salvation. It matters how we live our lives. Obedience to His revealed will in the Scriptures is key. Be a student of it and a servant to it. Wholeness and fullness await us there.
It is so interesting to me that freedom is only found in obedience to God’s Word. Some may balk at that statement, but nevertheless it is true. When God allows us to go our own ways, it is certainly one of His heaviest judgments - giving us over to our own stinking hearts to pursue what will inevitably not satisfy because it will never be enough. It is a weary way. All other pursuits will find us wanting to be sure. They are as unsatiable as the grave. Yet, God provides a fullness to be had that their emptiness cannot scratch. He who created us knows the way for us – walk in it.
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV)