Obey God
So Joshua said, we must be careful as we live our lives. And that means loving the Lord our God, he goes on to say, and walking in obedience to him, keeping his commands.
This is something the modern church sometimes skips over. We talk so much about God's love for us, which we absolutely should, but often we forget to say, “Obey him, keep his commands.” That is what he desires for us - not to spoil our fun, but to care for us, and so that we can thrive in this life.
Jesus himself spoke about this, and in John 14:23, he said, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My father will love them and we will come to them and make our home with them.” And then he said, “Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear,” Jesus said “are not my own. They belong to the Father.”
Obedience Born of Love: Embracing God's Guidance
Obedience was a big part of what he said. He not only offered grace and compassion and love, but he outlined a way of life and a way to see the world that we need to be faithful to. Every time we pick up our Bibles there are words of guidance showing us how to obey and love the life God wants us to doing certain things, not doing certain other things because we trust in His commands.
Let me ask you, is your life a fervent pursuit of obedience? Not a fearful pursuit of obedience, because you don't want God to smack you, but a joyful pursuit of honoring God because you love Him and because he has loved you?
That's the key to obedience. If we try to obey because we think it's the right thing to do, and because we’re told that this is what the Bible says, our actions are going to be marred by this bitterness. But if we read the words of Jesus and spend time with Him and call him our Savior and our friend, if we go through the Bible and see who God is and stand in awe of him, then it's a great delight to choose his ways instead of the ways of the culture around us because we know that we can trust in him.
Divine Commands: Trusting and Obedient Hearts
President Lincoln once had to overrule General Scott, who was his military commander, because Lincoln, in his own judgment, thought it would be better to evacuate a particular fort that they were in. The general heard that the president had asked this. And so he stood up and said, “When the king commands, all things are possible. It shall be done!” So great was his trust in his leader that he obeyed when the commands came.
How about us and God? When God's commands clash with what we want, do we follow His commands?
Let's listen to the words of Joshua and of Jesus today. And follow God's commands always because we trust that He knows best.
