The Blessing that Follows Obedience

The Blessing that Follows Obedience

One theme that weaves all throughout Scripture is this: God blesses obedience. My pastor says it this way, “The doors of blessing rest on the hinges of obedience.” But why has obedience become so hard? Why don’t I feel blessed?

Maybe I thought that walking in obedience to God and His word would always make me feel good — that warm, fuzzy feelings would follow as if to encourage me and remind me that I’m doing the right thing. I certainly haven’t felt that lately. Amid my “obedience,” I’ve felt angry and frustrated. I’ve had a horrible attitude about so many things — my lack of free time, a never-ending to-do list, a pricy invoice to fix my broken car, this warm February weather that arrived just in time for my AC to call it quits.

Perhaps I’ve obeyed the Lord to an extent over the past few months, but I’ve done so begrudgingly. No wonder I don’t feel blessed.

All of this dawned on me one day while I was driving home from work. I left a little early, so the sun was just beginning to fade into a sunset. My usual practice on drives home is to listen to a podcast or talk on the phone, but instead I chose to turn on worship music. I’ve needed it. As I started singing and praising the Lord, I realized why I’ve felt so frustrated. I haven’t spent time being still in His presence, listening to His voice, reading and relishing His word. I haven’t been delighting in Him. I was reminded of my favorite verse, Psalm 37:4: “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.”

In this, I saw the blessing that follows obedience. Choosing time with Him over my usual entertainment encouraged me and filled me in ways I can hardly say. As I spent time with Him, listening and praying, He aligned my heart with His and gave me a greater desire to follow Him and obey Him.

He says in His word to seek Him and that we’ll find Him when we do. In finding Him, we find treasures forevermore — life abundant, peace everlasting, and joy to weather the toughest storms.

What I see now that maybe wasn’t so clear before is that I was trying to live a godly life without God. That’s just the thing, we can’t do anything apart from Him.

Instead of striving, we can bring Him our fears and frustrations, our own selfish wills, and lay it all at His feet. As we look to Him, He’ll give us the strength and desire to do what He’s called us to do — by the power of His Holy Spirit. How sweet of the Lord? To promise that He’ll bless us when we obey Him and to give us everything we could ever need to obey:

  • “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.” Ezekiel 36:26–27

  • “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 3:18

  • “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’” John 7:38

  • “But He said, ‘The things that are impossible with people are possible with God’.” Luke 18:27

  • “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.” John 14:26

My pastor says it best, “We can rest our heads on the pillow of His promises.”

When I find myself struggling to do what I know God has called me to do, I can lean on His word. I can bring it to Him as if to say, Lord remember what You said. This doesn’t feel good, and I don’t have the strength to do it. Give me the desire and the power to obey You. Not only does this remind me of what He’s promised, but it activates my faith. I can claim these promises and walk by the power of the Holy Spirit in obedience, not knowing exactly what will happen next but fully trusting and believing that He is good.

That kind of walk with the Lord, that kind of daily dependence, is one of the greatest blessings in and of itself. For a right relationship with God is and always will be the greatest blessing.

First Things First

First Things First

No Greater Gift

No Greater Gift