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I have to admit that I struggled with the title of this train of thought for some time after just penning a four-part series on “The Blessings of Obedience”. But who do you know that doesn’t need just a few more pointers in being obedient? I know of no one. I struggle with obeying God’s will just like the next person, but I’m learning to realize that it is ok to struggle, as long as you resolve to say “nevertheless thy will be done” (see Luke 22:42). I encourage any of you struggling with your desire to obey God’s will for your life because of a difficult situation to listen to a series by Beth Moore called “Wrestling with God”. It is on her website and you can view it on your computer. It will really bless you.

In this series, I thought it would be appropriate to give you a theme scripture that will help you to apply these principles. It is important to use the infallible Word of God for instruction and the same follows for anything I write. Daniel 3, an interesting story is recorded that involves tremendous difficulty encountered for three believers that chose to obey God rather than man. Many know the story of the three Hebrew boys and consequently overlook their tremendous heroism in their choice to defy the king. However, their choice was because they knew the awesome power of the true King. Before I go on, I wanted to provide you with a definition of obedience:

Obedience – to respond conformably in action to [something].

I chose this definition because I liked the use of the word action in the definition. Obedience to God’s will always involve an action on our part. Our God is one that shows his love towards us by action so it is only appropriate that our proper response is action—even if just to receive (see John 3:16). As believers, we must choose to obey God’s will in lieu of picking the easiest option. Last week, we spoke of the “cost of discipleship” because anything of value or worth (our kingdom inheritance) has a cost. Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (I choose to use their Hebrew lineage names instead of their given Chaldean names) understood that the price for their so called insolence was death. But they chose to obey God. May I suggest that in following Christ you having nothing to lose, but oh so much to gain! These men had been extracted by force from their homeland and thrown into captivity. They were force-fed a new culture to brainwash them into forgetting the God of their fathers. But they chose to obey God. As American born citizens, very few believers have ever been forced to forsake many (if any) luxuries to name the name of Christ, yet we struggle to obey God. Why is that? May I suggest that we have yet to make a sold-out commitment to God? Would any of us, if asked by God, obey him at all costs? Would we quit a job? Would we end a relationship? These are the tough questions that the believer must ask when obeying despite difficulty. In Daniel 3, we see a picture of extreme adversity faced by three children of God and their willingness to obey regardless of the outcome. In life, I believe we will all face a time when we must choose to obey God regardless of the outcome. But there is such blessing in believing because God honors our obedience and delivers us. In this story, God’s mighty name was upheld because he rescued the three Hebrew boys miraculously despite the fact that they were condemned to die in a fiery furnace. They went in bound, but came out free! (See Daniel 3:20,23,25) The point being that no matter the difficulty that you face, there will doubtless be blessings in obeying God. God will deliver you and make His name great inside of your circumstance (see Daniel 3:26-30). Stay encouraged and believe God in whatever you’re facing today.

"Today's Little Lift" from Jim Bullington

Mercy and not Sacrifice (Sept. 29, 2010)