Related Articles
Table of Contents
Day 1: Topic: Staring Down the
Challenges
Obeying God is essential to
pleasing Him.
Obedience can be a challenge, especially when you’re tempted to believe you stand to lose more through your obedience than you might gain. However, obeying God is essential to pleasing Him. When God commands you to obey Him, it’s with your best interests in mind.
He knows the outcome of every possible choice you might make, and He steers you to the path of the greatest good. In the process, He gives you key principles by which to live. He also sets a framework around your life that forms a hedge of protection from evil (see Job 1:10).
Can you remember the last time you were
tempted to do the opposite of what you knew God desired you to do? Most likely, a struggle erupted within your heart. The questions arose: Will obeying God cost me more than disobeying Him?
Can I experience greater happiness by committing this sin than I would by obeying God? What will happen if I disobey? If you chose to obey God in that situation, you took the way of wisdom and undoubtedly realized that in the end, the blessing of obedience outweighed any possible consequences.
Obedience is the avenue by which you know God better.
God asks you to submit your life to Him and leave whatever happens to His loving care. As you grow in your walk with the Lord, obedience becomes the avenue by which you come to know Him better.
Your experiences teach you that obeying Him produces positive results. Your bond of trust in Him becomes stronger and stronger. In turn, He pulls you closer to Himself and teaches you more about His precepts and His love.
Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold. . . .
When all the people heard the sound of the horn, flute, harp, and lyre, in
symphony with all kinds of music, all the people, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the gold image (Daniel
3:1, 7).
