Obedience Out of Love

Good day, everyone!

We are continuing our series on the section of love in the book Journey to Authentic Joy that I've written, and today we are focused on "Obedience Out of Love." That is the title of this essay.

Like most of the daily diaries and essays I have included, I kick it off with a quote. This specific quote is by Oswald Chambers, and I think it's a beautiful one. I'm going to share it with you as we continue our discussion today. The quote by Oswald Chambers is:

“A man is a slave for obeying unless behind his obedience there is recognition of a holy God.”

I think that is so powerful because there are many things that we "have to" do in life, whether we feel like we have to do them or we genuinely think we should. The bottom line is that we choose to do them either because we feel like we don't have an option or because we believe it's the right thing to do.

We know that God is a God who is largely focused on obedience because obedience is order. There has to be order for things to sustain, and there needs to be an order of things. But God doesn't want us to be slaves to just doing things because we're supposed to; He wants us to be obedient to Him. Everything we do needs to tie back to Him, and it's so much more meaningful that way.

I know there have been times when I've done things just because it was a rule, whether in school, at work, or due to others' expectations. I have done those things just to please an external focus, and it brings tension. It doesn't feel right; it doesn't feel good. But when I've done things that God has told me to do—or not do, or that He hasn't given me permission to do—or told me I need to obey an authority, then it has meaning. It makes sense because my ultimate authority is God. It’s not about submitting to a person; it’s about submitting to what God has told me to do.

I know this is a concept that many of us struggle with at times, but when we realize how small each of us is in the grand scheme of things, we understand that it’s nothing for us to obey authorities when God has told us to. On the flip side, when we realize how big we are because we are children of God, we understand that God will make everything right anyway. We don’t have to fight everyone because God owns everything, and He can and will do it.

Another part of the book that I want to share with you says:

"When we obey Him, we know that our lives are ordered by His perfect will. We know that our fates are truly destined; otherwise, our fate is a mere crapshoot of our own doing."

For me, this gives me chills because it came to me, but the bottom line is we can do whatever we want to do. God has blessed every single one of us with free will, regardless of our religion, our faith, or how old we are. He’s given us that right.

However, we know that there is a place we are going with what we do. It’s a path that we are walking on. What God is saying is that if we obey Him, we have assurance on that path. At the end of that journey, we’ll be in a place that is in our best interest. But when we do what we want, and it’s not in obedience to God, it’s a crapshoot. We might as well just flip a coin and do whatever because we have no idea how this will work out.

And if we know we are disobeying Him, we can pretty much be sure it’s not going to work out well at all. So that’s something for us to keep in mind as we’re making decisions: How much are we involving God in those decisions? The assurance of our decisions will be based upon how much God is involved or not.

Another point I want to share from the book is that our love for God invites Him into our lives. When we see God merely as someone to fear and we don't cultivate or nourish our relationship with Him, we’re compartmentalizing Him—either out of fear of the ten rules or just for what we want.

When we compartmentalize God, treating Him like a genie in a bottle or a police officer enforcing rules, we severely limit what we can receive from Him. God wants to be a full partner in our lives. The more we share our love for Him and raise our relationship with Him above those limited ways of compartmentalizing Him, the more powerfully He can work in our lives.

On that note, I want to leave you with a couple of questions to meditate on and use in your devotional time.

The first question is to think of two times: one time where you obeyed God out of fear and didn’t really want to do it, and another time where you obeyed God out of love. You might struggle to know what the difference is. The difference lies in the love part. When we respect God so much and know in our hearts that He’s right, we want to please Him.

I’m not going to say it doesn’t hurt when we obey Him out of love, but there’s a peace that comes with it. When we obey out of love, we feel that peace. On the other hand, when we obey out of fear, it’s often not as peaceful. Sometimes, we even resent God when we obey out of fear. That love brings us the peace of knowing He’s there regardless of what He’s telling us to do or not do.

We know that He’ll bless us because we are seeking to please Him, and He will honor that. As He said, when we humble ourselves, He will exalt us. If we seek His face in everything we do, He will ensure it all works out for our good because we love Him and are hungry for His purpose.

So, know and believe that. The last question I want you to consider is: Think of a time when you obeyed God, and in that obedience, you were able to avoid something negative. Reflect on that.

As you think about these things, always remember to appreciate the blessings that God gives you. Have a blessed day! If you have benefited from this at all, please share and like.

Have a wonderful day!