John 14:15: “If you love me, you will obey what I command.” (NIV)

According to a devotional by Pastor Rick Warren, obedience is: Love + Trust + Action. Obedience comes from knowing that God loves you, and you love Him in return. Throughout my 50+ years as a Christian, there have been many instances where I have seen God’s hand intervene with family members and even in personal situations in my own life because I was faithful and obedient to God’s direction in my life, including marrying my husband of 45+ years and praying for and obeying God’s direction for our lives together in ministry.

Obedience calls not only for love, trust, and action, but a change in our hearts and attitudes. We obey God for several reasons:

We believe that God answers our prayers.
We feel the Lord’s presence.
We gain wisdom.
We have an open communication with God.
We are blessed beyond measure.
We have a peace that “passes all understanding.”
We will enjoy a long life.

The scripture is filled with verses that pertain to our obedience to God:

Ephesians 6:1-3: “Children obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother–which is the first commandment with a promise–that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”

II John 1:6: “And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.”

Luke 11:28: “Blessed rather are those who hear the Word of God and obey it.”

Romans 5:19: “For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.”

Let us continue to live our lives in obedience to our loving Lord every day.

Blessings,
Yvonne