The Difficulty of Obedience

There are many stories of obedience in the bible. Some show remarkable courage on an individual or individuals part and others shows what happens when you don’t do as the Lord has commanded. Below are two such stories that exemplify both sides of obedience. The willing servant and the reluctant servant.

The classic disobedient servant story has to be Jonah. The Lord directed him to go to Nineveh to minister to the people of that land. Jonah did not like those folks and felt they did not deserve to part of God’s plan for mankind, so he decide to not do as the Lord asked. The result was a violent storm, 3 days in the belly of a great fish and ultimately doing as he was directed. When he finally did as the Lord asked, there was great revival and repentance.

The ultimate obedience story is Jesus and His willingness to go to the cross for us. He would also speed 3 days in the bowls of the earth with the results being salvation for all of mankind. Jesus said this in John 15:12-13 “This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

When you’ve chosen to follow the Lord, sometimes it’s hard to do what He asks. It really can make your flesh scream. I’ve given away vehicles, turned down jobs that would have given our family financial freedom and even turned over ministry opportunities to other ministers at the direction of the Lord. Each one of those opportunities for obedience was a hard decision.

Submission will mean sacrifice, however, ultimately obedience to the Lord’s will for our lives is the only right choice, it’s impact is nearly immeasurable.

Blessings