Good morning,
Have
you ever thought about how the word “obey” got such a bad reputation?
My earliest memory of this idea was formed when my mother said,”Roy,
don’t touch the top of the stove!” Suddenly pain became my teacher. I
know that one of the first words our boys learned was “No.” The lessons
of obedience usually seemed to come with some form of pain attached and
the principle doesn’t seem to change as we grow older. Automobile
drivers, whether 16 or 61, seem to have the same problem when it comes
to driving at or less then the speed limit. We have to go to the Bible
to discover the roots of the bad reputation for the word, obey. It
wasn’t a bad word until Lucifer decided that his beauty and power had
earned him the right to do things his way. Then “obey” became unpopular
with a third of the angels as they listened to this powerful persuader
and they followed him. Adam and Eve soon joined the almost endless
parade, including our generation, of those who only feel comfortable
obeying their own rules. The Creator God is viewed as the enforcer
rather than the Lover of our souls.
The Bible gives us a very
different picture of the word “obey.” From Moses in Genesis to the
Apostle John in Revelation, the writers of the Bible saw the word obey
to be the key to a life of freedom and joy. They were human just like
we are, but they were people with changed hearts. They were people who
chose to trust their Creator God instead of the lies that energized the
rest of their world. They learned to show their trust in the living God
by obeying the laws that were eternally true. Their changed hearts
motivated them to live out their lives in ways that would bring glory to
the God who had given them life instead of living “life their way.”
They faced the same spiritual battles and issues that we do today so
they knew that staying on course with God required the discipline of
spending time with their Heavenly Lover. The only way that their
relationship with their Heavenly Father could grow and blossom would
come from spending meaningful time with Him. Men like Abraham, David,
Isaiah, Daniel and Jesus made a commitment to spending personal time in
the morning and the evening with the One they loved. They all had very
demanding lives, but their love for their Lover drew them to putting
first things first. Lord, please help us to love you this way too.
Isaiah 26:8
LORD, we show our trust in you by obeying your laws; our heart’s desire
is to glorify your name.
9 All night long I search for you; in the
morning I earnestly seek for God.
Roy Wisner
