Obedience against all odds



Bible Reading - Mark 14:27-52

If you had to give up a promotion at work because you refused to make unethical decisions, would you still choose to honour God at the workplace? If you had to score worse in a project because you refused to cheat, would you still stand firm on godly values? If people you love were to cut ties with you because of your faith, would you still follow Christ?

Choosing to obey God can cost us our achievements, resources and relationships. Understandably, we struggle with discomfort, disappointment and discouragement.

Jesus knows how that feels like. Facing impending death, He experienced the betrayal of a disciple (v43-46), immense sorrow (v33-34) and abandonment by His closest companions (v27, 50). He was in so much distress that He asked God if there was a way out of His suffering.

Yet Jesus chose to remain in God’s will. He understood that complete obedience was necessary. He would not consider an easier alternative if it was not aligned to God’s plan. He determined to obey God in tough and trying circumstances, even to the point of death.

Living our lives according to God’s will will bring challenges. No one is untouched by trouble and everyone goes through trials. But it is through adversities that we experience God’s love and grow in endurance and character (Romans 5:3-5).

Obeying God requires more than just verbal declaration or even fierce determination. It requires faith. Trusting God, Jesus was calm and controlled when He faced opposition from the Jewish leaders and hostile crowd.

Faith is trusting God even when you are not certain what lies ahead (Proverbs 3:5-6). It is being confident that God will lead the way. It is persisting to obey God and doing His will.

Our faith in God is not a blind leap into the unknown. It is a trust that comes from knowing who Jesus is. Studying the Bible and spending time with Jesus in prayer gives us opportunities to understand Him. What can you do to know Jesus more today? List some ways you can cultivate a heart that will follow Jesus in obedience.

As you spend time on the couch with God, take a moment to pray and reflect on what you've read.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Danger

Image
If you’re reading this right now then be warned. This devotional to spiritual warfare is a bit dangerous, not to you, but to your way of life. If ignorance is bliss, it aims to destroy that bliss forever. Imagine living in a house infested with termites. For years you never noticed them. Just beyond reach, just out of sight, they lived, they ate, they spawned, they festered. For all those years you blindly ate, played, and slept, unaware of the lurking presence right beneath your head at night. If you live in a house full of termites is it better to know or is it simpler to live in ignorance? If you prefer ignorance, then stop reading right now. If you don’t want to know about the spiritual forces that have been eating away at the foundation of your life and family like termites, then there’s no need to go any farther. Ignorance is in fact bliss, at least for the short term. This book’s aim is nothing short of ripping up the base boards, pulling out the sheetrock and exposing the d...
Read more

Worship

Image
Text: Psalm 104.24-35 Psalm 104 starts and ends with the words, “Praise the Lord, my soul”. The beginning and the end are a proclamation of praise to the Almighty God. In fact, the whole psalm is a review of the greatness of God in creation and, therefore, a meditation on God’s providence. To consider such things, helps us to draw closer to God and worship Him. If we are sincere with ourselves, our daily situations (children, work, news, stress, etc.) can take our attention away from God. It is not easy to just plug-in and worship the Lord. I find myself missing so much of God’s creation, because my mind wanders off to my daily concerns. My wife calls me to really see the beauty around us, otherwise I would miss it. How easy it is for us to be carried away and not once lift our eyes to the Lord, and worship Him that created the earth. Let us open our spiritual eyes, God has revealed through the authors of the Psalms that all of creation is called to worship. It is not just appreciation...
Read more

Fight Together

Image
Stand . . . Take . . . Pray. Ephesians 6:10, 14, 18 The final step in successful spiritual warfare is one that is as critical as the others but it is far too easily missed. The last step isn’t a specific verse or a piece of armor mentioned, but rather a verb tense. When most Americans read the armor of God passage in Ephesians 6, we read it through the lens of our individualistic, self-focused mindset. We worry about ourselves first and foremost. As harsh as it sounds, everyone else can fend for themselves. But that’s not the intention at all behind Paul’s instructions on spiritual warfare. When Paul tells us to stand firm, to take the pieces of armor, to pray, the verb is not in the singular form, it’s in the plural. To use Southern language, it’s as if he’s saying, “Y’all stand, y’all take, y’all pray.” Why is this important? Because too often our defeat in spiritual warfare comes from the fact that we try and engage in it on our own. And please understand this: if the enemy ha...
Read more