How to Find Joy in Obedience

“And they agreed with him, and when they had called for the apostles and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.” ACTS 5:40-42

 

PONDER THIS

Don’t get the idea that the will of God is something you have to do; God’s not going to force it on you. The will of God is something you get to do. When you learn to obey, you will learn the joy people talk about in the Christian life. There’s no such thing as a happy, disobedient Christian. That is a contradiction in terms. Verse 41 says, “They departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.” I am telling you that obedience and rejoicing come together. It is a lie out of Hell that doing the will of God is painful and makes you miserable. The Bible says, “His commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3).

Now the reason some of us don’t obey the Lord or understand there’s joy in obeying the Lord is that we don’t trust the Lord, and we struggle to take commands from a stranger. You get to know the Lord Jesus Christ and you will learn that His commands are not a burden. The Bible says, “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us” (1 John 4:10). His way is good; His way leads to life. It is a joy to have such clarity, direction, and purpose when we walk in Him!

How have you seen God’s way as an obligation instead of as an opportunity?

What changes when you see God’s way as a way you get to be with Him joyfully instead of as a difficult obligation?

PRACTICE THIS

Open yourself up to God in prayer. Be honest with Him about the hard parts of obedience and ask Him to grow your joy in following Him.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers