Obedience

Obedience to the Christian can be easily defined in Matthew 16:24, "Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me."

Obedience looks like denying ourselves and willfully serving God.

Sounds easy enough, right?

However, we often times forget the part about taking up our cross. It doesn't sound flowery or joyful but it's not supposed to. Choosing to be obedient isn't always easy. It will make you look weird, uncool, and may take more time than you would like.

Being obedient shows God that we are affectionate toward Him, that we love Him, that we are listening to His instructions. (2 Corinthians 2:8-9)

We should wake up every day ready to ask God, "what is your will for me today?" We have to wake up ready to serve and then live it out, even if it isn't what we would've planned for ourselves because the Creator of all things is continuing to choose us and trust us to be the hands and feet for His kingdom. His ways are higher than our ways. (Isaiah 55:8-9) His plan is better than our plans. (Jeremiah 29:11) So choosing Him should be a no brainer for us. He is seeing time from beginning to end and only desires the best for us. Obedience to the One who knows all about all may not be the popular choice in our world but I don't think I want to be the popular choice in our world.

If we choose to serve, trust, and obey the Lord, we will never feel empty, cheated, or abandoned. He does not desire for us to fail.

Let us choose to be obedient so we can allow God to be God. So we have the pleasure of walking with Him. So we can be blessed. So we can allow the best possible outcome to happen for our lives.

What is God asking you to do today?

Will you be obedient?

Are you choosing to be blessed or cursed?