From the time we were toddlers we are taught obedience. The attribute of being obedient is meant to encompass and is directly related to other attributes including discipline, respect, and submission to authority. Although it is ingrained in us throughout our upbringing, somewhere during the progression of adulthood we sometimes lose sight that obedience is not only relevant but still required no matter how old you are. As a spiritual principle, our obedience to God is intricately connected to the depth of our relationship with Him and the manifestation of His blessings and promises.

How you perceive the necessity of your degree of obedience to God reflects both your love and your submission to His will for your life. Throughout my spiritual walk I’ve learned the true meaning of “not my will but thine O Lord”. I have come to understand that when I am obedient to God’s will and plan for my life, it not only results in blessings for me, but others are blessed in the process. God’s blessings and promises are always multi-faceted. As God continues to expand the ministry He has called me to, whenever I preach, teach or lecture when someone comes up to me afterward and says “Thank you for your obedience to the Lord”, I am touched beyond words. Why you might ask . . . because they’re saying something I said or did touched or blessed them. They are acknowledging that, and in the process, I am receiving confirmation that what I did was right! When I hear that I feel it is God speaking through them that He is indeed pleased. It becomes a give and take – one to another. As you allow yourself to be a blessing to others, God will see to it that you are blessed as well. Obedience oftentimes is a sacrifice, and it represents a deviation from your plan to be an instrument of God’s plan.

Daily we receive urges, nudges, and even hear God’s voice as He seeks to guide us. Sadly, we can be guilty of ignoring or overriding His guidance. Those random acts of kindness, that simple gesture, that leap of faith will not always originate from a bed of ease. You may even wrestle with it. But when we submit from a heart of obedience everyone in the equation is not only blessed but fulfilled.

Source: First Lady Denise