A growing faith
“...all the people from the least to the greatest, approached the prophet Jeremiah and said, “May our petition come before you; pray to the Lord your God on our behalf, on behalf of this entire remnant (for few of us remain out of the many, as you can see with your own eyes), that the Lord your God may tell us the way we should go and the thing we should do.” So the prophet Jeremiah said to them, “I have heard. I will now pray to the Lord your God according to your words, and I will tell you every word that the Lord answers you; I won’t withhold a word from you.” And they said to Jeremiah, “May the Lord be a true and faithful witness against us if we don’t act according to every word the Lord your God sends you to tell us. Whether it is pleasant or unpleasant, we will obey the Lord our God to whom we are sending you so that it may go well with us. We will certainly obey the Lord our God!” Jeremiah 42:1-6
We don't like the idea of obedience because we feel at times that it is something that is daunting and difficult to do. Yet, as a child of God, God requires obedience. Obedience is of vital importance. From the text, there are some good things, wonderful things that will never happen if the followers of God will not learn how to obey Him. The fulfillment of some of the promises that God makes to us will only be experienced unless we obey Him. “For if we obey him, everything will turn out well for us” (Jeremiah 42:6). So lack of obedience will result in missing out from His valuable blessings that His followers need so they could live lives pleasing before Him. There are some bad things that you will never have to face, but will end up facing because you did not obey God. Asking God for His will and directions are the best thing we can do for ourselves. But once He reveals His will, we are to obey simply because He told us to obey. Once we grow obeying God, this will help us have a healthy perspective in life. God becomes the source of joy and fulfillment. We become more convinced that God knows better. All the more we realized that God is good and faithful. As we mature in our faith, obedience is no longer drudgery and just a forced submission, but a privilege because we know that we are in the center of His will. We experience the joy of living our life for His glory.
Blessings,
Noel De Guzman
www.my-wbc.com
