Obeying God’s Will

 

 

 

“The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.”

1 John 2:17 (NIV)

“The world and its desires pass away. . .” A few years ago, I watched a documentary on television that showed what happened to concrete if it was let alone and nothing was done to it and its surroundings. Time photography showed it morphing back into its original state- that of soil and vegetation. Our desires change as we mature. So it is with the desires of our world. Our wishes began to be seen in the light of reality.

”. . . .the man who does the will of God lives forever.” John tells his readers, including us, the reward of following God’s will is eternal life. Simply stated, if we obey the Father, follow His guidance for our lives, and live out that will before others, we will be granted entry into His heavenly home.

When we realize we may have not obeyed God, we still can humble ourselves before Him and say we are sorry for not following His direction. He will forgive us and erase the transgression from our slate and allow us to enjoy His presence for the present and for the length of eternity.

Obedience to the Spirit Brings Peace

 

 

“Whatever you have learned or received or seen in me or heard from me, or seen in me-put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” Phil. 4:9 (NIV)

               The apostle Paul gives his readers very good guidance here. His readers in the first Century received the word to “put into practice’ whatever they learned from his letters, heard in sermons, or saw in his practice.

               When we are new Christians and start studying our Bibles, we are taught that we are to apply what we learn to our hearts in order to experience growth in our spiritual lives.

               By applying what we learn to our lives and our hearts, two things happen. First, we grow a little more like Christ each time. Second, when we display godly traits, we model Christ for those around us.

                Godly traits can be the extending of grace to a neighbor, holding a door for an elderly person or anyone, taking the time to do something for a friend.

               Recently, I had a problem about the way something was handled by a lady. I didn’t want to cause hurt feelings with a mutual friend. I called the mutual friend and got her voicemail. I left the message asking her to pray for me. Later that morning, she called me. I found myself telling her what was wrong. She had already prayed for me; while we were on the phone, she listened. She took the time out of her busy day to listen to me. I felt blessed.

 

Obedience Results in Confidence

 

 

“Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask; because we do what pleases him.” 1 John 3:21-22 (NIV)

” . . . if our hearts do not condemn us . . .” If our hearts are clear, we are right with God. We can have answers to our prayers because we have done what makes Him smile. However, if we harbor unkind thoughts, it is our responsibility to present them to God and let Him take us through the healing process.

“. . . we have confidence before God. . .” We can go without fear before the Father’s throne knowing He will hear us, accept our requests, and act upon them. We don’t have to cower in fear before God.

” . . . receive from him anything we ask. . .” We know He will answer according to His will. Sometimes, His answer is not what we have asked for but what He sees best for the circumstance.

“. . . because we do what pleases him.” When we choose to follow God in obedience, He allows us to have rich answers to our prayers. These answers are according to His will and not necessarily ours.
small;">