By the fatherly nature of God, when man was created, God gave man the willpower of choice, to decide what to do and what to refrain from doing. Due to this innate power of choice given to man, man is then at liberty to either obey or disobey anyone even God Himself. Therefore, man at various instances has been confronted with situations that posit man in the driving seat of decisions which some being wise have chosen to obey God and have had the result of obedience which is Joy, great testimonies and won a place in the heart of God and some being shallow in their thinking have been deceived by the devil to foolishly disobey God and has earned destructions and total alienation from God’s presence.
While living in the flesh, true obedience to God is not as easy as anyone could think but when we surrender our heart to God, He comes in to perfect our imperfectness, subdue the flesh and quicken the Holy Spirit in us to obey God, makes the will of God pleasant to us as opposed to when in the flesh when true obedience to God seems impracticable. The man who attempts to keep the commandments of God from a sense of obligation merely because he is required to do so will never enter into the joy of obedience He does not obey. When the requirements of God are accounted a burden because they cut across human inclination, we may know that the life is not a Christian life. True obedience is the outworking of a principle within. it springs from the love of righteousness, the love of the law of God.
When our hearts are released unto God, He in return gives the Holy Spirit the helper unto us to enable our mortal body to be awake to obey God, and the closer we are to Him, the easier it becomes for us to obey God as we begin to take on the nature of God as we fellowship with Him daily. All true obedience comes from the heart. It was heart work with Christ. And if we consent, He will so identify Himself with our thoughts when obeying Him we shall be but carrying out our own impulses. The will, refined and sanctified, will find its highest delight in doing His service. When we know God as it is our privilege to know Him, our life will be a life of continual obedience. Through an appreciation of the character of Christ, through communion with God, sin will become hateful to us.
Conclusively, irrespective of how hard we strive to obey God, all our attempts after full obedience will be failures until we get access to His abiding fellowship. It is God’s holy presence, consciously abiding with us, that keeps us from disobeying Him.
Have a blessed week as you get access to God’s abiding fellowship which guarantee your true and sincere obedience to Him always.
Your brother, vicar & Archdeacon
‘Seyi Pirisola.