The Victory of Obedience

The more time we spend with Heavenly Father, particularly during this season, the more we understand the commandment of the Lord to enter into His rest. Hebrews 4:3(NIV) says, “Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said, “So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’” And yet his works have been finished since the creation of the world.” Those who refuse to obey God, will not see His rest, but for those that are obedient, their faith gives them access to God’s rest. His work was finished after the sixth day of creation. Genesis 2:2(NLT) says, “On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work.” This is the rest Hebrews 4:3 speaks about. As His children, we are to recognize that our Heavenly created this wonderful place for us, and then invited us to rest with Him from all His labor.

You and I really can’t create anything. We simply use what Heavenly Father has created. He was pleased with Himself and pleased with His creation, because everything about Him and all that He creates is perfect and glorious. He invites His children to enter into His rest and celebrate His glory with Him. This means that everything we do should be mindful of the reality of God’s perfect work. This is what our obedient conveys. It says to God that we believe in His perfection, and we believe that by obeying Him, we can maintain the life of balance, harmony, and blessings that He has ordained for all of us.

Adam’s and Eve’s disobedience did not negate or alter the perfection of all that God has done. Their disobedience rejected that perfection. We must be oh so careful not to do the same. God is sovereign and all powerful, but He is so merciful to us. Through His overwhelming and unconditional love, He allowed Adam and Eve to bow to the devil and did not prevent them from doing so. Through them, we can see that His love knows no boundaries. His love does not imprison us and restrict our choices. We have a spirit, soul, and body. We are made in God’s image, and like Him, we get to choose who we will be and how we will live.

As we examine the season that is upon us, with all its confusion, chaos, and challenges, the choice about who we are going to be is ever before us. It is logical to say, “Well, I will be who I want to be. I will be who I have always been.” This is not an approach that will work. There has been a shift, and every spiritually mature person in Christ recognizes it. The world as we knew it has indeed ended. It will never be as it was. The same is true of us. Try as we might, we cannot go back to who we were, and this should not be a surprise. Heavenly Father has been preparing us for this time. And during this rest, He is spiritually preparing us for what is to come.

Rest does not mean that we don’t work or do what is necessary to maintain our lives. It means that we are particularly attentive to God’s perfection and directions, and that we are quieting ourselves so that our spiritual hearing is as tuned in to His voice as it can possibly be. As we understand this posture that the Lord has told us to take, we can see it reflected in the very same posture that Christ called upon the disciples to take. In John 17:14(NLT), he prayed to God for the disciples and said, “I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.” Jesus Christ has let us know that the world hates the light, and this is what followers of Christ are. We are children of light, and God has set us apart from the world. Jesus knew what was to come, and he prayed to the Father to prepare and awesomely empower the disciples for what lied ahead.

He said in John 17:15-17, “I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. They do not belong to this world any more than I do. Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth.” We cannot be Holy any other way, it is only by the truth of God’s Word that we are made holy. John continues in verse 18-19, “Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth.” Jesus Christ is the living Word of God. He is the Word in the flesh, and when he came to the earth, he showed us the way to walk in holiness and live by the power of God’s Holy Spirit. The world would have us believe that more money, designer clothes, fame, and accolades will cause us to be whole and victorious, but this is a lie from satan. The only way to have victory in life is to be made holy by the Word of God.

Technology has proven to be a wonderful tool to move the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but it has also been used by satan to distract the minds and hearts of God’s people so that they don’t spend time with Him. Many of us have fallen for this trick. Now that we’re faced with the restraints of the pandemic, we scarcely know what to do with ourselves. Many of us have not experienced the joy and bliss of meditating on the goodness of God, and we’ve not spent significant time in His presence. Instead, our attention is quickly diverted, and we move immediately from one thing to the next. God does not like rushing and it is impossible to rush Him. He is the Creator of time and cannot be bound by it.

You are called by Jesus Christ, and you belong to him, not the world. We need to understand that this world is under the dominion of satan. Jesus Christ is our advocate and mediator, and we have protection through him. He is continually praying to the Father on our behalves. He loves us, and he has rescued us from satan’s realm of evil, darkness, and bondage. We are called and commissioned to share this good news about what Jesus Christ has done for everyone, and we should let others know that they can live in him just as we do.

It is a victorious way of living, that why 2Corinthians 4:1-2(NLT) tells us, “Therefore, since God in his mercy has given us this new way, we never give up. 2 We reject all shameful deeds and underhanded methods. We don’t try to trick anyone or distort the word of God. We tell the truth before God, and all who are honest know this.” Victory belongs to us because we are employed and empowered through the mercy and grace of God. It’s not because you and I are qualified on our own. It’s because of our Heavenly Father, and this is why quitting this spiritually powerful way of living is not an option. It’s not our strength and power we’re using, it’s His, and it cannot fail. So, we should never give up but seek to please and know God through the Lord Jesus Christ in a greater way.

God has done everything for us through the finished and perfect work of Christ. We should never try to manipulate God’s Word to fit our own agendas, so we can continue sinning and living beneath our privilege. We are here because the truth of God’s Word finds its greatest and most authentic expression within our very own lives. And the truth is that we are made in the image of God for the expressed purpose of transforming into the very image of His Son, Jesus Christ. Heavenly Father punished our sins through His Son, who shed his blood and sacrificed his life for us. He paid all our debt. God has done everything for us. Now our job is to trust, love, follow, and honor God in obedience to His Word.■

The Victory of Obedience

Recent Posts

Comments

Subscribe to Our eNewsletter