Obedience requires giving up one’s own plans, ideas, and aspirations, and doing what another person wants. It’s natural to not want to obey every single time we deal with people—family, bosses, friends, or authorities. With God, however, it is not enough to obey only part of the time; what He asks of us will always be in our best interest, so it behooves us to obey every time. He knows everything, so we shouldn’t compare our little knowledge and insights to His knowledge.
Moses had led the Israelites
for over forty years through the wilderness en route to the Promised Land. It
was a tough assignment for him because the people were so cantankerous; they
argued, murmured, whined, rebelled, and disobeyed. They were downright
impossible to lead or instruct; Moses was extremely frustrated with them, but
each time they rebelled and God considered destroying them, he interceded for
them (Numbers 14:13-20). Moses was a great leader. God’s own testimony of him
was, “Of all my house, he is the one I trust. I speak to him face to face,
clearly, and not in riddles!” (Numbers 12:7-8). The Scriptures often said of
him, “He did as the Lord commanded.”
The frustrating moments Moses
encountered in his leadership role included the following times: when they were
sandwiched between the Red Sea and the Egyptian army, when they were out of
food, and when their water was bitter, and when they were out of drinking water
(see Exodus 1410-12; 15:22-225; Numbers 11: 18-20; 20:2-12). In order to
provide water for them, God instructed Moses and Aaron to take the staff,
assemble the people at a rock, speak to the rock, and then He would make water
gush out of the rock for the people. Out of frustration from the people’s
constant rebellion, Moses struck the rock twice instead of speaking to it; that
was the one-time Moses did differently than he was instructed. As hard as Moses
had worked for all those years, you’d expect that God would cut him some slack,
but that’s not what happened. Unfortunately, based on that one incident, he was
forbidden from entering the Promised Land—the land flowing with milk and honey.
What a loss!
Usually, when Moses pleaded
with God about something, He listened and granted his request. But regarding
this one issue, God denied him (See Deuteronomy 34:1-4). Wow! This is proof
that God has no favorites and does not sweep anyone’s sins under the carpet.
For instance, as much as God loved David, his adultery with Bathsheba was
punished—they lost that baby. So, for us believers, I say, “Thank God for Jesus
Christ who paid for our sins—past, present, and future.” Can you imagine the
disappointment if we, as believers, found out at the very last minute we
couldn’t enter heaven because of some sin we committed? We would have missed
the opportunity to see Jesus face-to-face, and to inherit the mansions prepared
for us. But thank God for Jesus’ sacrifice. He assures us that our life is
secured in Him: “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
I give them eternal life, and they will never perish” (John 10:27-28
Let’s be careful how we walk and understand that every sin we commit stems from disobedience. God has not
left us to figure out on our own what is or isn’t sin. He has told us in plain
language what to or not to do. So, if we violate any of these commands, it’s
because of disobedience. If we focus on obeying His Word with His help, we’ll
have no issues with disobedience. We are reminded by Peter that judgment will
begin with God’s household, and therefore we should continue to walk in the
Truth, even when it hurts (see 1 Peter 4:14-19). Verse 19 says, “If you are
suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust
your lives to the God who created you, for he will never fail you.” If Moses’
emotions hadn’t gotten in the way, he would not have missed the reward of
entering the Promised Land.
God-loving us does not bring
Him down to our level; we need to love and revere Him, and the way to love Him
is by obeying Him: “Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments
are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3). May God help each one of us to obey Him at
all times and in all things.
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