How Can We Become a More Obedient Child of God?

Genesis 12:1

Obedience is a major characteristic of a person who is mighty in spirit. Generally speaking, obedience characterized the faith of Abraham from his first encounter with God until his death.

1. All obedience begins with faith in the sovereignty of God.
   
   If we fail to believe in God's sovereignty, we will find it difficult to obey Him. Abraham based his relationship with God on his confidence that God would do what he had promised (see Rom. 4:20, 21). Until we study and meditate on God's Word, we will never learn to trust Him. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God and responding in confident trust (see Rom. 10:17).
   
2. We grow in obedience by waiting for God's timing.
   
   God is very time conscious-not in terms of minutes and seconds, but in regard to our acting in obedience according to His schedule. Throughout the Scriptures, we find Him moving in "the fullness of time" (see Gal. 4:4). He is neither early nor late. Ever.
   
3. We continue to grow in obedience by refusing to subject God's plan to "common sense" or the reasoning of the world.
   
   Some things that God requires look rediculous from a human perspective. God told Abraham he would have a son through whom He would bless the entire world. Yet He allowed Abraham's obedience to be severely tested-first by requiring him to wait nearly a quarter of a century before providing the promised provision, and later by requiring him to offer Isaac as a sacrifice. When God saw the obedience of Abraham's heart, He provided a ram in Isaac's place.
   
4. The final step: prompt obedience.
   
   If you long to obey god, you will not hesitate when He tells you to do something. Many times we fail to obey God because we fear the consequences. Yet He never requires us to do anything outside His will for our lives. Our responsibility is to obey; God's responsibility is to take care of the consequences of our obedience.
   
   Our sensitivity to God's will increases as we obey Him. Along the way, He provides glimpses of the blessings waiting for us. God always blesses obedience. You can trust Him, obey Him, and be blessed. or you can disobey Him and spend the rest of your life wondering what He would have done had you obeyed Him. Once you glimpse the blessings of obedience, however, the consequences no longer matter.

Noah: Obedient and Dry

Genesis 6:22

Nothing indicated an approaching storm. Still, since Noah believed in God, he prepared for the downpour God promised. His friends must have mocked him, but he built an ark (Gen. 6).

Obedience is the cornerstone to our faith in God. While Noah's obedience led to God's blessing and reward, the disobedience of his contemporaries led to their destruction. At the time of the flood, the physical salvation of mankind fell to Noah and his willingness to be used by God.

The ark merely foreshadowed the eternal salvation from sin that is ours through Jesus Christ. Just as Noah's faith saved him and his family, so our faith saves us today. As we are told in Ephesians 2:8-9, "By grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works lest anyone should boast."

Building the ark did not bring Noah any closer to the Lord-but his obedience and faith in God did. And it kept him safe and dry.