The meaning of divine obedience is to obey the great and superior God who is above all, who is our creator and the owner of the whole universe; who is omniscient (knows everything), who is our God, our provider and sustainer. He created us and our breath is in his hands. He provides for us, nourishes us, takes care of us and protects (keeps) us. To obey him is divine obedience.
Please find below some pointers with a connection to divine obedience.
For Divine Obedience It Is Very Essential To Have Action.
In the book of Genesis chapter 22 verses 1-2, it is written:
“Abraham said, ‘I am present, oh my Master I am ready. Here I am.’”
“And it came to pass after these things that God did prove Abraham, and said unto him, ‘Abraham.’ And he said, ‘Here am I’”
Gen. 22:1 ASV.
“And he said, ‘Take now thy son, thine only son, whom thou lovest, even Isaac, and get thee into the land of Moriah. And offer him there for a burnt-offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of’”
Gen. 22:2 ASV.
If you sincerely want to obey the Lord, or you are sincerely obeying the Lord, then you will be ready to offer your best thing or object to the Lord. Your youth, future, education, skill, degree, health, status, position, wealth—even you’re everything.
The Lord Jesus said,
“And he answering said, ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself’”
Luke 10:27 ASV.
Your thoughts, attitude and actions show that you are obeying the Lord. It is easy to say but difficult to do. With regards to obedience, we can talk over it the whole night but when it comes to action very few people prove it.
“For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, even so faith apart from works is dead”
James 2:26 ASV
There is a progression in the actions of Abraham:
-He rose up early in the morning
-Saddled his donkey
-Took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son
-He chopped the wood for the burnt-offering
-And Abraham took the wood of the burnt-offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son
-And he took in his hand the fire and the knife
-And they went both of them together.
-And Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order.
We see in this progression in the actions of Abraham that each and every step he took was moving forward toward obedience.Gen. 22:3, 6, 8-9 ASV.
“…and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar, upon the wood”
Gen. 22: 9 ASV
“Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son”
Gen. 22:10 ASV
Please think seriously. Here Abraham touched the limits of his obedience and action, what can he do beyond this? Abraham stretched out his hand, and took the knife. Now the father killed his own love with his own hands. Abraham mentally and emotionally sacrificed his son. He did this with his whole intention. God Almighty honored Abraham’s action. For divine obedience we must be ready all times to offer and sacrifice our most loveable and most precious thing.
Oh my Master, whatever you say, however you say it, whenever you say it, and wherever you send me, I am ready to hear and obey your commands.
For Divine Obedience It Is Very Essential To Have Faith.
What is faith?
Does faith have eyes?
“Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, a conviction of things not seen”
Hebrews 11:1 ASV.
The things for which we hope in the far future, we have trust, confidence, assurance, certainty that by the grace of God those things will happen. The things which are invisible from our physical eyes we accept as if they are there.
By faith William Carey came to India. George Mueller of Bristol fed thousands of orphan children. Hudson Taylor continued his evangelistic ministry in China in spite of many financial crises. By faith Hannah prayed for a son and the Lord granted her desire.
By faith even Sarah herself received power to conceive seed when she was past age, since she counted him faithful who had promised. Heb. 11:11 ASV.
“By faith Abraham, being tried, offered up Isaac: yea, he that had gladly received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; even he to whom it was said, in Isaac shall thy seed be called: accounting that God is able to raise up, even from the dead; from whence he did also in a figure receive him back”
Heb. 11:17-19 ASV.
“By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were swallowed up. By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they had been compassed about for seven days”
Heb. 11:29-30 ASV.
“…who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, waxed mighty in war, turned to flight armies of aliens”
Heb. 11:33-34 ASV.
“…and without faith it is impossible to be well-pleasing unto him; for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that seek after him”
Heb. 11:6 ASV.
In the Result of Divine Obedience God Provides.
The son (Isaac) questioned, “Where is the lamb for the sacrifice?” His father (Abraham) has faith that God would provide. Here we observe that Abraham has total faith on the person of God. He understands that, “My only job is to obey, and God’s job is to provide.” And in the needed moments God provided the lamb.
Do you have such faith in God that He will certainly provide for you for some specific need in the needed moments? He provided in the past, He continuously provides in the present time, and He will continuously provide in the future IF you truly obey Him from the depth of your heart.
In the Result of Divine Obedience God Blesses.
When a certain person obeys God, God never keeps his reward to Himself. He certainly rewards and blesses the person. God promised to bless Abraham,
“…that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heavens, and as the sand which is upon the seashore. And thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies”
Gen. 22:17 ASV.
God desires to bless every person but for it he demands obedience.
“And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed. Because thou hast obeyed my voice”
Gen 22:18 ASV.
God blesses an obedient person. This blessing is limited to this particular person, and then this person can become a channel of blessings and the blessings flow through this person and reach to other persons. If sin enters into the life of this person then his personal blessings are blocked and this channel is also blocked for other people.
Practical Lesson.
My dearly beloved how do you obey God?
Are you ready to obey God all times?
Can you say?
“Oh my Master, whatever you say, however you say it, and whenever you say it, wherever you send me; I am ready to hear and obey your commands.”?
Do you practically obey God?
Are you always willing to offer your dearest and most precious thing to the Lord?
Do you obey God by faith?
Is there any progression in your obedience?
Do you obey God whole heartedly?
You can ask these questions of yourself truthfully and transparently. God perfectly knows your heart, thoughts, intentions and attitudes. There is nothing hidden from Him in the universe. If your response is in the negative then you have to get serious about it. You have to change and ask for God’s grace so that divine obedience may work absolutely in you. In your busy schedule you can also listen or read divine obedience lyrics or obedience in the bible from any source for your knowledge.
In the result God will bless you, and you will be a spring of blessings for other lives. May our dear Lord grant you grace to joyfully obey Him.
Amen
