Obedience Brings Joy

“Obedience brings joy.”

I read that phrase in an interview with Lauren Chandler (https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/on-my-shelf-life-and-books-with-lauren-chandler), and it has stuck with me ever since. I’ve repeated it to myself, and reminded myself of the truth of that statement, but it wasn’t until recently that it played out in my life and I saw it firsthand.

Have you ever known that God wanted you to do something, but then dragged your feet to actually DO it? Yep, that has been me for the past month, I’m sad to say. I knew what God was telling me to do, I knew it was Biblical and the right thing, and yet I hemmed and hawed. I realized I was using the excuse of “I’m still praying for more direction...” when in reality, God had given me the direction I needed already. I don’t think there is anything wrong with praying for direction—in fact I believe that God loves it when we look to Him for wisdom and guidance! Proverbs 9:10 says that the “fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,” so there is no better place to start when asking for wisdom than by listening to the Lord, and by remembering His holiness, sovereignty, and sufficiency. However, I believe that there are times that we can pray too much asking for direction, when God’s Word clearly tells us what to do, and we already know what He wants us to do. I think of James 1:22-25, where James admonishes his reader to not only listen to the Word, but to DO what it says!

Last week I finally realized that by dragging my feet and saying that “I was still praying for more direction,” when I KNEW what God wanted me to do, I was acting in disobedience. Growing up I was taught that obedience had three parts. First was doing what I was told to do. Second was doing it WHEN I was told to do it. Third was doing it with a good attitude. By not acting and obeying God when He first told me, I was acting in disobedience.

So I prayed specifically that God would give me the opportunity I needed that day, and you know what, He did! He opened the door wide, and gave me an opportunity that was better than I had imagined!  I obeyed Him and finally took the next step that I needed to.

And the immediate result?

JOY.

I was filled with joy, joy that only comes from our Heavenly Father.

Joy because I had obeyed Him.

Joy because I knew I had acted in accordance with His will.

“Obedience brings joy.” It really does!

My prayer now is that I will take that lesson to heart, and obey immediately the next time God tells me to do something. I pray that I will remember that my obedience to Him and His word brings joy.