WISDOM FOR LIVING DAILY DEVOTIONAL
NOVEMBER 14, 2024
TOPIC: PAINFUL OBEDIENCE
BY T. O. BANSO
“And even though Jesus was God’s Son, he had to learn from experience what it was like to obey when obeying meant suffering” (Hebrews 5:8 Living Bible).
One truth the children of God have learnt or will learn in their walk with Him is that obedience to Him is not dependent on their feelings. In other words, they must not obey Him only if they feel good about it because they will not feel comfortable about everything God asks them to do. God is not concerned about whether you like what He asks you to do. What is important is His will, not yours. Obedience to Him is important, not your feelings.
Obedience to God can be painful sometimes. What you have to forgo to obey God may be costly to you. Obeying God may cost you something precious to you or something you cherish but disobedience will cost you far more. Obedience to God may mean you have to go where you don’t like, stop doing what you love to do, or do what you don’t want to do. It may require you to leave your comfort zone. Obeying God may bruise your ego! It’s not about you but God. It is not every time that you are excited about what God asks you to do. There is painful obedience.
It must have been painful for Abraham to go and sacrifice the child God had promised him and for whom he waited many years before he was born. “Then God said, ‘Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you’” (Genesis 22:2 New International Version). Note the phrase “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac.” God asked Abraham to sacrifice the only son he had and whom he loved! The price of obeying such a command is high. There is a difference between giving what you love and what you don’t love. The former is painful.
The command to sacrifice Isaac could have been even more painful because it seemingly contradicted what God had told Abraham that he would become the father of many nations (Genesis 17:1-8). How would that happen after sacrificing Isaac? Nevertheless, Abraham went to obey God, not because he knew God’s reason for the command. When Isaac asked him about the lamb for the burnt offering, he replied by faith that God would provide the lamb for the burnt offering (Genesis 22:7-8). But when he wanted to slaughter Isaac as God had commanded him, He stopped him and provided a ram instead for the sacrifice. Abraham obeyed God because His will was superior to his feelings.
We see another example of painful obedience in the story of Joseph, the husband of Mary, the earthly mother of Jesus. Matthew 1:18-19 says, “This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly” (New International Version).
Joseph had planned to divorce Mary secretly because of her pregnancy which he was not responsible for. But he had to change that decision following the instruction he received in his dream. Verses 20-21 says, “But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins’” (New International Version).
If you were Joseph would you do what the angel of the Lord said? Or would you think that it was the devil talking to you, not God? Would you not consider what family and friends would say? “When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus” (verses 24-25 New International Version). Joseph decided to obey God even when it was painful. He did what he didn’t want to do before. He decided to endure the stigma of living with a woman who would give birth to a child he wasn’t his biological father.
Most people will obey God if it agrees with what they want to do but only a few will when it conflicts with their desires. Decide to obey God no matter what it will cost you. The psalmist says in Psalm 119:112, “I have made up my mind to obey your laws forever, no matter what” (Contemporary English Version).
Also, obedience to God may make you suffer some things that you may or may not be aware of before obeying Him. You are not responsible for the consequences of your obedience. If you don’t have trust in God, you may start regretting obeying Him when the suffering comes. But this is unnecessary because obedience to God pays ultimately. To obey is better than sacrifice (1 Samuel 15:22). If you obey God, He will work all things together for your good (Romans 8:28). Disobedience will cause you greater suffering.
Jesus is our perfect example. The Bible says, “And even though Jesus was God’s Son, he had to learn from experience what it was like to obey when obeying meant suffering” (Hebrews 5:8 Living Bible). Note the expression: “He had to learn from experience what it was like to obey when obeying meant suffering.” The Amplified Bible puts the verse thus: “Although He was a Son [who had never been disobedient to the Father], He learned [active, special] obedience through what He suffered.” Obedience to God may make you suffer, not because God hates you. God has the big picture which you don’t have. The Contemporary English Version renders Hebrews 5:8 thus: “Jesus is God’s own Son, but still he had to suffer before he could learn what it really means to obey God.”
Your obedience to God can result in suffering but don’t regret obeying Him. Everyone may claim to be obedient to God but true obedience will be proved when one can suffer to do His will or endure suffering while doing His will.
Doing God’s will is more important than your comfort. Nevertheless, God has your best interest at heart. Jesus says, “For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me” (John 6:38 New International Version). You, too, are here on earth to do God’s will, not yours (Matthew 26:39, 42, 44; Mark 14:36; Luke 22:42). Jesus said His food was to do the will of Him who sent Him and finish His work (John 4:34). Your topmost priority should be to obey God, no matter how you feel and what you may have to sacrifice.
Be ready to deny yourself daily to obey God. Jesus says, “If anyone wishes to follow Me [as My disciple], he must deny himself [set aside selfish interests], and take up his cross daily [expressing a willingness to endure whatever may come] and follow Me [believing in Me, conforming to My example in living and, if need be, suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in Me]” (Luke 6:23 Amplified Bible).
Don’t obey God only when it is convenient for you. Obey Him not based on your feelings or preferences. If you love Him, you will obey Him (John 14:15). If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best of the land (Isaiah 1:19). Obey God even when it is painful. God delights in obedience.
TAKE ACTION!
If you are not born again, you need to give your life to Jesus now. Take the following steps: *Admit that you are a sinner and cannot save yourself and repent of your sins. *Confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. *Renounce your past way of life – your relationship with the devil and his works. *Invite Jesus into your life. *As a mark of seriousness to mature in the faith, start attending a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church. There they will teach you how to grow in the Kingdom of God.
Kindly say this prayer now: O Lord God, I come unto You today. I know I am a sinner and I cannot save myself. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me and God raised Him on the third day. I repent of my sins and confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I surrender my life to Jesus now and invite Him into my heart. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank You, Jesus, for saving me and making me a child of God.
I believe you have said this prayer from your heart. Congratulations! You must join a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church in your area where they will teach you how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like a palm tree and grow like a cedar of Lebanon. May you grow into Christ in all things and become all God wants you to be. I will be glad to hear from you. The Lord be with you.
PRAYER POINTS: Holy Spirit, help me to obey God whether it is painful or not, inconvenient or convenient. Let me obey God no matter what, and not based on my feelings. I shall do God’s will, not my will in Jesus’ name. I shall obey God and eat the best of the land.
(For over 900 in-depth and powerful messages by T. O. Banso, visit www.cedarministry.org).
T. O. Banso is the President of Cedar Ministry International, Abuja, Nigeria.
Phone No: +2348155744752, +2348033113523
WhatsApp No: +2349081295947
Email: cedarministryintl@yahoo.com,
cedarministryng@gmail.com
Website: www.cedarministry.org
