We went to pick my uncle up
for a dinner date we had with him. He had just received a call before we walked in, that left him half
amused, and half borderline pissed.
His staff was traveling to
America on an official trip that night; they had spoken earlier in the day and
agreed that he would pass through the house to see him on his way to the
airport.
He called my uncle at the
time he was supposed to be at the house, my uncle answered, expecting to hear
the staff was outside, but instead he told him he was already on his way to the
airport or did my uncle still want him to stop by? he could turn back. Of
course he was asked to go on ahead. (Note,
he wasn’t running ridiculously late. He still had time for one stop, so I
really don’t understand what he was thinking. )
But you see, he missed out on
something. While uncle was going through some things earlier in the day, a few hundred-dollar
bills fell out and he decided he would give it to the staff traveling when he
passed by; some thing a little extra for the trip. He already had a huge sum
for his trip, allowance and all, but we all know that an extra hundred or two
or five never hurts, in fact, it does so much good, especially in this day. That would have been a perfect extra treat,a real blessing and he missed
out because he didn’t obey. He tried to play smart. I felt the pain for this
guy.
Of course he has no idea what he missed, except he reads this post or my
uncle mentions it to him when he gets back. He traveled ignorant of the
blessings that awaited him if only he obeyed.
Some times obedience can feel
like an inconvenience to us. Going out of our way, but it pays. It could feel
like a burdensome stop at your boss’s house, when you could just take that straight
road without having to divert to the airport.
When God gives instructions
and ask us to obey, it’s so important that we know that our obedience isn’t for
Him, it’s for our own good. Yes, we are blessed already, but those extras toppings
in life, we get them through obedience. We see people who walk in obedience sometimes
and feel like God’s showing a little preferential treatment to them… but we can enjoy same privileges.
Remember, obedience is better than sacrifice!(1 Samuel 15... King Saul lost out of his kingship because he failed to obey.)
We are asked to tithe, sow
and give offerings, if we don’t do it, we wouldn’t go to hell, God wouldn’t
punish us, He still loves us and still blesses us, but there’s a little extra
for those who go the inconveniencing route to tithe or sow seeds (Mal 3:10,
Prov 3:9-10). I wouldn’t even waste time arguing with people about tithing…
I’ve tasted and seen the benefits of obedience when it comes to sowing seeds,
tithing, offerings and giving to those in need. Some unexpected blessings!
Yes we are under grace and
not the law and we are forgiven! But that doesn’t mean we should ignore walking
in obedience of his commandments. It saves us from unnecessary issues. i.e As a
lady, when you obey instructions to not have premarital sex, we enjoy the
little extras and blessings of not having to deal with unnecessary heartbreaks/disappointments.
When you get drunk with wine, most times you end up making stupid decisions or doing things you later regret. Those instructions are there to save us from ourselves!
(Proverbs
3:1-6) 1 My son, do not forget my teaching, but
keep my commands in your heart, 2 for they will prolong your life many
years and bring you peace and prosperity. 3 Let love and
faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the
tablet of your heart. 4 Then you will win favor and a good
name in the sight of God and man. 5 Trust in the LORD
with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways
submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
The verses above show
the benefits of obedience… When we obey to trust in the Lord with all out
hearts and lean not on our own understanding, and submit to Him in all our
ways, He gives us a beautiful bonus of making our paths straight.
“Children, obey your parents in all things:
for this is well pleasing unto the Lord”
(Colossians 3:20). Not only is this pleasing to God, but there’s also a promise
of long life on earth when we obey our parents (Ephesians 6:1–3)
Obeying to spend time in prayer and fellowship with God gives us inside information on life. We walk in the supernatural... He expresses His power through us in diverse ways, because we take time out to just stay with Him and enjoy His love. It feels hard sometimes to take time out, so we go days without a proper timeout with Him and miss out on a lot.
Sometimes obedience takes you out of
your way, and like my uncle’s staff still had loads of money for his trip, we
still are blessed when we refuse to take the path of obedience (for Gods
blessings are without repentance Romans 11:29 and grace has qualified us to be
blessed outside our doing) but we miss out on those extra things that give a
rich and satisfying life, like he missed out on the extra money.
Go out of your way today in obedience,
there’s grace available to yield, and O, what joy you’ll feel when you’re
enjoying the benefits, makes the little inconvenience and discomfort of that
moment so insignificant in comparison to the size of the blessing.
Sweet Holy Spirit, please help me to be obedient, to listen to your voice and follow your instructions. I can't do it in my own strength, so I rest in you to help me walk in obedience. Thank you for hearing me, and giving me the grace to yield to your promptings. Amen.
