Shift Into Obedience

Heb. 5:8 tells us that Jesus learned obedience by the things which He suffered.  We learn obedience every time we choose God's will over our own will.  This is especially true when our choice to follow God brings suffering into our lives.  Jesus could have got out of the suffering and agony.  He could have called to the Father, and had 12 legions of angels come to deliver Him, but He would not give in to the flesh and take the easy way out.  He endured the stress, even when drops of blood formed on his skin, and fell to the ground.  He would let nothing stop him to do God's will.  Phil. 2 tells us that He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.

The choice that Moses made brought suffering into his life.  He refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin.  God was working out a plan for their deliverance from Egypt.  Moses was reluctant to obey, and tried to get out of what God asked of him.  Repeatedly Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, "Let my people go."  After 10 plagues, Pharaoh finally told them to go.  The time had come for Israel to shift into obedience.  The passover was to be eaten with their belts on, sandals on their feet, and a staff in their hand.  They were to eat it in haste, for it was time to move.  They could not wait, not even until their bread was leavened.  When God said it was time to go, they had to shift into obedience and go.  The timing was perfect, 430 years to the day that they entered Egypt.  Through the Red Sea they experienced their deliverance.  But their obedience was short lived, for only 3 days into the wilderness, they cried out to Moses for water.  Their obedience was not sustained.  It did not become a way of life.  Their minds were not renewed.   They died in the wilderness, just like they said they would.  They got what they said.  It is sustained obedience that brings us through life's trials, and into our destiny.  Sustained obedience is faithfulness.  Trusting God for each new day, and continuing to trust God produces a life of faithfulness.  Can you trust God for one more day?  Trust Him one day at a time, and you will live a life of faithfulness, and fulfill God's will for your life.

Are you making a shift into obedience?