Tag Archives: obedience

June 24, 2025 · 5:32 AM

Repentance And Obedience

Author Max Lucado shared the story of being on an airplane years ago. Somewhere in the middle of the flight the captain came over the speakers to alert the passengers about upcoming turbulence. He told everyone to take their seats and buckle up. A minute or so later, he made the announcement again. Max thought it was weird because everyone sat down. Then the pilot made the announcement again a few minutes later and added, “This includes the lady in the restroom.” An embarrassed, red faced woman came out, found her seat and took her seat. His point was that like the pilot, God will do whatever it takes to get our attention to get us to repent or to get ys where we need to go, even if it’s embarrassing or hurts.

It makes me think of Jonah. God called him to a city he didn’t want to go to because he didn’t like the people. Instead of obeying, he bought a ticket on a ship going the opposite direction. God sent a great storm, but Jonah didn’t repent. Instead, he dug his heels in. The storm got worse and the crew cast lots to find out Jonah was at fault. Again, instead of repenting, he asked them to cast him in the sea. He was going to die before he obeyed. However, God prepared a big fish to swallow him and take him back so he could obey. During his three days in the belly of the fish, he repented. The fish spit him out on the beach, and Jonah obeyed.

Acts 3:19 says, “And now you must repent and turn back to God so that your sins will be removed, and so that times of refreshing will stream from the Lord’s presence” (TPT). Peter spoke this truth and it’s relevant to us today. What has God asked you to do that you haven’t done yet or are running from? A friend told me last week that simple obedience is the highest form of worship. If you’re running from what God called you to, it’s time to repent and obey. It’s better to do it before He tries to get your attention. I can speak from experience on this one myself. Don’t delay your obedience another day. God is reaching out to remind you that your obedience matters.

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June 11, 2025 · 5:30 AM

Wholehearted Obedience

There’s a story of a construction worker who spent his entire career working for one builder. When it came time for him to retire, the owner of the company asked him to build just one more home as a favor to him. Reluctantly he agreed to build. As he worked on the house, his heart wasn’t in it. He began to cut corners instead of the usual craftsmanship he put into the homes he built. He used cheap materials and even covered up some shoddy work that he did. When the house was finished, he went to the boss to let him know and to ask if he could retire. The boss thanked him for doing the favor and also told him how much he appreciated his excellent craftsmanship and dedication through the years. As a thank you to him, the boss gave him the keys to the house the man just built. Immediately he thought of all the halfhearted work he had put into this home that was now his.


In 2 Chronicles 25, we read the story of King Amaziah. You probably haven’t heard of him, but when he took over as king, he followed the Lord. While he was preparing for battle, the Lord sent a prophet to tell him to change his strategy despite what it had already cost him. King Amaziah did what was asked of him by God and won the victory in that battle, but pride crept in. Verse 2 tells us a haunting caveat to his obedience. It says “Amaziah did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight, but not wholeheartedly.” His partial obedience led to a life of idolatry. His halfhearted commitment to God is a cautionary tale of someone who started out with good intentions, but ended up letting partial obedience and pride keep him from all the blessings God had for him.

Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” God’s call to us today is to serve and trust Him with our whole heart knowing it will empower us to full obedience. We must seek Him in every situation, and He will direct us. When we trust Him with our whole heart, he can use us completely. We can’t just go through the motions of following Him on the outside. We must surrender our hearts to Him as well. When we do, we will receive all the blessings He has in store for us and live a life that points others to Him.

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May 15, 2025 · 5:30 AM

A Conditional Mindset

Have you ever told God, “I’ll go wherever you want me to go, except…”? Or you might have said, “I’ll do anything you want me to, except…” it’s crazy how we sometimes put conditions on our obedience. The truth is that we’ve got a mindset that we’ve adopted on earth that makes us think we can do that. For some reason we’ve bought the lie that we get to pick and choose what we want to obey. You can’t say, “God, I’ll honor you, but I’m not going to honor my spouse or my parents.” To dishonor them is to dishonor God and the commandment He’s given. The mindset that tells God what we are and are not going to do is wrong.

Take Jonah for example. God told him where to go and what to say. He didn’t say anything back to God. He went down to the shore, bought a ticket like he was going and boarded a ship in the opposite direction. His mindset was the kind that said, “I’ll go wherever you want except Nineveh.” God wasn’t pleased with Jonah, nor is He pleased with us when we adopt the same mindset. He might not send a great fish to swallow you so you’ll get an attitude adjustment and a mindset change, but He will try to get your attention so you’ll follow and say what the Spirit leads you to do and say. We can’t forget that He is the potter and we are the clay.

Romans 8:7 puts it plainly what’s happening when we do this to God. It says, “In fact, the mind-set focused on the flesh fights God’s plan and refuses to submit to his direction, because it cannot!” (TPT) When we refuse to submit to God’s direction for our lives, we’ve adopted a flesh driven mindset rather than a Spirit led one. It’s a visible sign of rebellion because of a lack of submission to God. To live by the Spirit is to live in obedience and without conditions to what God says on how to live, where to go and what to say. It’s the way God has asked you and I to live. The next time you find yourself putting conditions on obeying, stop the sentence, repent and say, “I’m your servant. I’ll do whatever you want.” It may not be easy, but that’s what a Spirit led life looks like.

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Throwback Thursday is a feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word.

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April 16, 2025 · 5:36 AM

The Garden Of Surrender

After God had created everything, He planted the Garden of Eden, where He chose to place Adam. Everything Adam could want was there, including the Tree of Life and also the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. God gave Adam a helper in Eve as well. Yet in this paradise the serpent came to temp them. He had them question the truth of what God said. They ate the fruit in disobedience to God. In this garden, that started off representing abundance, sin and death entered the world because they chose their will over His.

On Thursday night of Holy Week, Jesus and the disciples entered into the Garden of Gethsemane. It was an olive tree grove with a name that means the place of pressing. The trees are dark and wiry. It looked nothing like paradise. As Jesus went off to pray, He told the disciples to watch and pray so they wouldn’t enter into temptation. Jesus felt the pressure of the enemy in this garden too. He sweat drops of blood as He agonized over what was ahead, yet He submitted to God’s will instead of His own. Gethsemane represented pressure and struggling, but it became the place of surrender and redemption.

In Luke 22:42, Jesus prayed, “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine” (NLT). Jesus taught us how to surrender to God’s will instead of our own. He chose surrender rather than selfishness. There are times I pray very specifically for things because I desperately want them. However, I add that I ultimately want His will to be done instead of mine. I also ask God to conform my will to His when what I want differs from what He wants. Each of us must learn the discipline of surrender that Jesus demonstrated in the garden. Romans 5:19 sums it up. It says, “Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous.” We have life and righteousness because Jesus chose to surrender and obey.

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April 9, 2025 · 5:43 AM

Obedience Brings Victory

Have you ever felt God leading you to do something that didn’t make sense? I’ve felt that way several times. Once I was facing a serious challenge to my character. My initial strategy was to go on the defensive and then attack. As I mapped out my plans, God had a different strategy in mind. It was to be still and quiet. It was the opposite of what I felt should happen. What I wanted to do made sense, and what God was asking didn’t. I had a choice to make. I could choose to do what made sense or I could obey. I decided to obey. What God asked me to do worked out better than anything I could have done.

In Joshua 6, the Israelites faced their first enemy in the Promised Land. Jericho had thick, intimidating walls. Israel didn’t have siege equipment or battering rams. I’m sure Joshua met with his military leaders to devise a strategy. Then he met the captain of the Lord’s army. He was told to simply march quietly around the walls for seven days. On the seventh trip around the wall on the seventh day, they were to blast trumpets and shout. It didn’t make sense, but Joshua had learned that victory comes through obedience. He followed God’s strategy, rather than his own, and God destroyed what had been impossible and intimidating.

Zechariah 4:6 says, “The angel told me to give Zerubbabel this message from the Lord: ‘You will succeed, not by military might or by your own strength, but by my spirit’” (GNT). So much in life depends on obedience to what God desires for us to do. However, we must first stop and ask what He wants in each situation. I don’t know what intimidating walls you’re facing today, but I do know that His strategy will work better than yours. It may not make sense or seem like the right thing to do in the moment. It might even seem crazy or counterintuitive, but remember that obedience brings victory. Follow His leading and plan, then watch the walls fall before your eyes.

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March 13, 2025 · 5:30 AM

Saying Yes

I was just talking with some friends about Bob Goff’s book “Love Does”. If you haven’t heard of him or this book, I’d encourage you to check it out. To me, Bob is a Christian “Yes Man”. He views each interaction and request from someone as an opportunity for Jesus to show up. The book is a collection of stories from his life where he simply said yes in certain situations and incredible things happened. It challenged me to want to do more for others and God’s Kingdom. It’s prompted me to say yes to more things giving the Holy Spirit more opportunities to do things through me.

I love reading Paul’s letters to the Early Church. Not only are they great instructions for us on how to live, they also include a list of people who were examples of Christian character. He mentions how they opened their homes to him, made clothes for the poor, welcomed him in, some visited him in prison and encouraged him. These people he mentioned were just ordinary people who did what they were promoted to do because of their faith. They could have easily found an excuse to not do those things, but because they did, they’re mentioned in the Bible.

2 Thessalonians 1:11 says, “So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do” (NLT). You are called by God to do the things He’s prepared you to do. Your faith is constantly prompting you to do things. Have you been listening to it and obeying or have you been making excuses? The more we say yes to those promptings, the more we allow the Holy Spirit to accomplish things through us. You don’t have to be a Bob Goff, but you do need to live the life God is calling you to. It starts by saying yes to things He is prompting you to do.

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Throwback Thursday is a feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word.

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January 7, 2025 · 5:31 AM

Half Built Towers

I like to make plans and then to execute those plans. When things aren’t going according to plan, I can be irritable and short tempered. My wife is usually quick to remind me that God may have other plans. In those moments I usually will seek God to see if it’s Him redirecting me or if it’s the enemy trying to stop me. There have also been times I’ve made plans without seeking His guidance. I knew what I wanted to do and decided to move forward with them with or without His blessing. On rare occasions, I’ve known what has God asked me to do, and made other plans. I don’t recommend this at all because one way or another, God’s plan will prevail. The sooner I submit to His plan, the better things are.

In Genesis 6-9 we read the account of the flood, Noah building the Ark and the year that he spent inside it. In Genesis 9:1 God told Noah and his family to repopulate the earth and to scatter abroad. Things were going well until Genesis 11 when a group of people decided to build a tower to the sky. In verse 4 they said, “Come, let’s begin work to build ourselves a city with a lofty tower that rises into the heavens. We’ll make a name for ourselves, a monument to us, instead of being scattered all over the earth” (TPT). They knew what God’s plan was and decided to enact their own. They decided the glory for their achievement was greater than obedience. In the middle of building the tower, God confused their languages, they separated and scattered abroad. The unfinished tower became a reminder to follow God’s plan.

Proverbs 19:21 says, “You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail” (NLT). Take a moment to reflect on the goals and plans you’ve made for this year. Did you seek God to see what He wanted you to accomplish? He has a personalized plan for your life and wants to work with you in accomplishing it. Don’t allow selfish ambition to sidetrack you. Follow God’s plan and do it with all your might. You will still face struggles and the enemy will try to thwart your efforts, but God will be right there with you through it. I’m sure you have some half finished towers in your life that you can look at to help you remember that God’s plan is the best plan and His will always prevail.

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November 6, 2024 · 5:39 AM

Pushing Past Fear

Have you ever been afraid to do what God asked you to do? I have. When God asks you to speak to someone, speak to a group, give something away or whatever, it can make you feel uneasy. I usually question if I’m hearing Him. I woke up in the middle of the night once and felt the need to reach out to a person I barely knew. The message was a hard one calling them out on sin. I brushed it off and tried to go back to sleep. I wrestled with it all night, but couldn’t shake it. Finally at 6:00 AM, I gave in and sent the message. Immediately they replied asking how I knew. After explaining my night, they had a choice to make: they could stay in sin or repent. They chose the latter which caused them to uproot their family and move. Even though I was afraid to deliver the message, I trusted the voice of God.

In Judges 7, God had told Gideon to build an army to fight the Midianites. His army was just over 30,000 and going up against one over 100,000 strong. He was leading them to the battlefield when God Told him he had too many warriors. He let all who were afraid leave, and 22,000 headed home. Then God told him he still had too many and needed to weed out some more. At the brook, God had him separate the men who cupped their hands and drank and sent the rest home. He now only had 300 men, and a mind full of doubt and fear. God told him if he was afraid to go to the enemy’s camp and listen, which he did. He heard two men share dreams which confirmed the Lord was with him. He trusted the Lord, attacked and won a great victory.

Psalm 56:3 says, “But when I am afraid, I will put my trust in you” (AMP). Do you trust what you’re hearing from the Lord or what you can see with your eyes? Often what God asks us to do either doesn’t make sense in the moment or moves us from our comfort zone. God understands that to get growth out of us, we must be moved from where we try to stop on our journey. He also is looking for people to give His message to someone or to share His love with them. You and I are often that vehicle and it can be scary to think about. If you’re standing in that moment now, don’t let fear win. Trust in God no matter what you feel. You can also be like Gideon and ask God for confirmation that you’re hearing Him. It’s time to step out in faith. Victory is on the other side of obedience.

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October 16, 2024 · 5:33 AM

Obedience Matters

I heard the story of a man who had just e tied a plane at the airport when he felt he heard God tell him to do a headstand. He thought it was crazy and kept walking when he heard it again. It got to be so loud in his mind that he couldn’t concentrate. So finally he stopped next to a wall and did the headstand. When he looked forward, a man came out of the men’s room shouting at him asking him why he was doing that. He felt weird saying it, but he told the man God had told him to. The other man broke down in tears saying, lI was just in the restroom and told God, “If you’re real, prove it. Have someone do something crazy, like a headstand, and I’ll give my life to you.” Right then and there, he gave his heart to the Lord.

In John 2, Jesus and the disciples attended a wedding in a village near where He grew up. Weddings typically lasted several days. At some point, His mother Mary came up to Him to tell Him that their friends had run out of wine and we’re going to be shamed. After pushing back, verse 5 says, “But his mother told the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you’” (NLT). Jesus then told them to get water and fill six stone water jars. It didn’t make sense to them at the moment, but they obeyed. Then He told them to draw water and take it to the master of ceremonies. Again, it didn’t make any sense, but they did it anyway. When he lifted the cup of water to his lips, it changed into wine and the friend’s reputation was saved. Jesus Himself was obeying the Law because a stone jar is the only type of jar that could have two different liquids in it, one after the other, without being ritually purified.

1 Samuel 15:22 says, “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.’” I don’t know what God is asking you to do, or will ask you to do, but obedience is necessary above all else. He has the information you’re missing. He knows what you don’t know. In the moment, and even after, it may not make sense, but follow Mary’s advice and do whatever He tells you to. Hopefully it’s not to do a headstand in an airport, but if it is, follow His voice. When we obey whatever He tells us to, He opens doors that have never been opened before.

Thanks to Gabriel Encev on Unsplash for the photo.

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August 13, 2024 · 5:08 AM

Comforting Others

I’ve lived through some very painful times in my life. Chances are that you have too. At one point, I couldn’t see a future for me. I struggled to live through the next minute. It took all my energy just to get through each minute, one by one, throughout the day. I didn’t understand why I was going through it. I cried out to God and He seemed distant and quiet. I felt alone, forsaken and that no one else could understand. It took time, but I made it through with God’s help. Now, when I see someone else going through something similar, my heart breaks with compassion for them. I reach out and offer comfort and strength to them. I also offer hope that they can come through on the other side with a full life ahead. I’ve learned God can use the darkest times in our lives so we can offer empathy and comfort to others in the future.

Very few people in the Bible lived through as painful life as Joseph. He was betrayed by his brothers, sold into slavery, was falsely accused of rape, thrown in prison in a foreign land and forgotten about. We don’t get to read about his anguish though. We don’t get to hear him cry out to God. However, we do get to read his redemption. We get to see God fulfill a dream that for years felt beyond God’s ability to make happen. We get to see God restore his relationship with his brothers and father. After his father’s death, his siblings began to fear. As the story and book concludes, we read in Genesis 50:21, “‘So now, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and support you and your little ones.’ So he comforted them [giving them encouragement and hope] and spoke [with kindness] to their hearts” (AMP). God used the hardest time in his life to help him give comfort and encouragement to his brothers.

2 Corinthians 1:4 says, “He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us” (NLT). There is a biblical pattern of God allowing people to go through unspeakable pain without understanding why and then using them to comfort and encourage others down the road. Even at the end of Job’s suffering, God had him pray for his friends. If you’re going through the darkness now, I want to encourage you that there is hope and God will restore your life even though you can’t see it now. He will use this time for your good and the good of others. If you’ve just made it through, keep walking. Restoration and healing often take time, but God is faithful. If your period of pain is behind you, look for someone you can encourage and comfort. God uses what the enemy meant for evil in our lives to give strength and hope to others. You may be the only one who can truly empathize with them and the only one they will receive comfort from. Ask the Holy Spirit, our comforter, to partner with you in comforting others.

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