Obey
I often look back on parts of my life with regret. I remember in 7thand 8thgrade being a disobedient and obnoxious kid. I constantly tried to impress my friends with my brazen disobedience to Mr. Chelf and Mr. Dunbar. These were both very capable teachers, and I treated them with disrespect. I had the opportunity to apologize to Mr. Dunbar later in life, but Mr. Chelf didn’t get an apology. Disobedience can appear to be a good option at the time, but it usually brings regret along for the ride.
As a parent, I want my small children to learn obedience at a very young age so that as they get older, they will respect people in authority. I see great value in respecting those in authority and serving to protect others. The Lord wants obedience more than church attendance and bible study. He wants our obedience to His call upon our lives. Check this out…..
21 This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Take your burnt offerings and your other sacrifices and eat them yourselves! 22 When I led your ancestors out of Egypt, it was not burnt offerings and sacrifices I wanted from them. 23 This is what I told them: ‘Obey me, and I will be your God, and you will be my people. Do everything as I say, and all will be well!’
24 “But my people would not listen to me. They kept doing whatever they wanted, following the stubborn desires of their evil hearts. They went backward instead of forward.(Jeremiah 7:21-24 NLT)
Disobedience and disrespect are “first cousins”, maybe even siblings. The relationship between disobedience and disrespect is hard to separate.
The Lord gets really frustrated when I say one thing to Him and about Him, but my choices and decisions say something else. He’s looking for obedience in the small things as well as big things. He wants me to not only listen to His Word, He wants me to follow and obey. There are times when He is calling me to obedience and I’m self-centered and want what I want, so I ignore Him. This hurts Him. This disrespects Him.
The Lord calls me to obedience every day. He wants me to trust Him that the life He’s calling and leading me to is the best for me. This obedience is not simply “behavior modification”, it is way deeper than just my behavior. It is obedience that comes from a profoundly surrendered heart. That obedience is filled with love and respect for God and His call upon my life.
Pressing On!
Dwayne