God
Expects Obedience
“Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai,
saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for
their wickedness has come up before Me.” Jonah 1:1-2
We all know the story of
Jonah and his disobedience when God told him to go to Nineveh and warn the
people what God was going to do if they didn’t listen. Jonah actually ran the other way and he ended
up in a big fish. The people listened to
him, repented and over 120,000 people were saved that day. That was a long time ago.
In
spite of what you may think, God still speaks to us today and he expects you to
answer by saying, “Yes, Lord.” However that is not usually what happens. I
can see you now saying, “Well he never speaks to me.” I can tell you right now that is not true.
If
you are a born again Christian, you have responded to the call of the Holy
Spirit through Gods voice. You were
obedient to that call then and many more times throughout your life directing
you in so many ways. How many times has your life been saved by urges to go
this way or that? How many times have
you felt a nudge to change direction in a situation that led to a better
outcome? Yet, we brag about what we did
and how we did it, not even thinking about thanking God for his help.
I
think how many years of my life, I never gave God credit for anything. Now,
after serving him for the past forty years, I can’t even image what my life
would have turned out without the guidance of God. I find that I need him more and more every
day. That’s because I have learned to listen to him through the Bible,
teachings, prayer and listening when he speaks into my heart.
But
that is only the beginning; next comes being obedient. When God speaks to you to do something, don’t
wait too long to answer his call.
Recently the Holy Spirit had been tugging at my heart to send a note to
someone, but I had been so busy I didn’t do it. Then one day I knew I had to do
it that day. I asked the Lord to give me
the words to say as I began to write. It turned out to be what the person
needed to hear, and why not, it came from God himself.
You
may not realize the importance of obedience to God. This scripture in I Samuel 15:22 may help you
to look at this more clearly. “But Samuel replied, “What is more pleasing to the LORD: your burnt offerings and
sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than
sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.” We know by the word of God that we should
honor the Sabbath. It may be a sacrifice
for you to go to church on Sunday when you would rather do something else.
In Exodus 20:8-10
it says, “Remember
the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your
work, but the seventh day is
the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor
your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant,
nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is
within your gates.”
This seems like a pretty strong command and yet God lets us know Obedience is still more important than
Sacrifice.
Each day, ask God
what he wants you to do. He may give you
a direction or it may be to call someone or send a note to someone who needs
encouragement. It can be to read the Bible and there you may find answers. “Holy
Spirit, let me hear from God today and use me in any way you choose. Help me to
be obedient and may someone be blessed.” Amen! 
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