It is not what we do that matters, but what a sovereign God chooses to do through us. God doesn’t want our success; He wants us. He doesn’t demand our achievements; He demands our obedience ... Charles Colson
The obedient bride of Christ really does fit squarely into these very truth-filled words. What she wants in life only matters if it squares with what her bridegroom wants. It’s so central to her Walk that Jesus even promises her that if she will delight (be pliable) in Him, He will cause His desires to become her desires, locked up in her heart (Ps 37). Without His guidance and continual presence in her life she has no hope of ever walking in obedience (hupakoen) to His Word.
I can tell you from experience that it can’t be done. But thank God that He had it all worked out before I got my sticky fingers into things. The moment we became “His Bride” He filled us with His Holy Spirit, and through Him we are led into all truth. Everything we need to live an obedient lifestyle has already been given to us. It’s just like salvation, it was free, but we had to ask for it. So, it is with becoming obedient in the way we walk out our daily life:
Matt 7:7 ask and it will be given… seek and ye shall find… knock and it shall be opened.
3 John 1:2 I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.
John used the word prosper here to mean, “lead in a good way or to prosper in one’s journey.” He was saying, I know you are prospering in your soul, but I want you to prosper as well in your body. But this can only happen if we’re walking in obedience to the Spirit of God. He is the only One who is going to lead us into prosperity for our spirit, soul, and body. And it’s only by His gentle and sometimes firm urging that we will become aware of those twists and turns in life that can cause us harm. It’s only by our individual decision to listen for His voice that we will take that all important first step to the obedient lifestyle, and all the steps that follow are accomplished the same way, one step at a time.
Obedience is true preparation for the coming of our bridegroom, but in the interim it keeps our relationship with Him open and free. After all, isn’t true obedience really the essence of true freedom? The restrictions God gives us are always for our own good and never meant to cause us harm; obedience is always in our best interest. In my case, the hardest part was just simply deciding to start.
The enemy will always give you a thousand reasons to put it off and they are all reasonable to our flesh. On the other hand, the true answers to God’s instructions are always fed to us through our spirit. When we spend time in the Word, we are always rewarded with instruction that is designed to build us up and bring us into a closer and more obedient relationship with Jesus. As God only has good plans for His wife (Jer 29:11), so Jesus only has good plans for His Bride; all we need to do is be obedient to His voice and follow His heart.
The Obedient Lifestyle is emblematic of our commitment to Walk With God in love. It is made by choice and continues to grow each time we choose Him over ourselves.
The life of obedience to Jesus Christ means living moment by moment in the Spirit of God, and it will be so different from your former life that you will often be considered strange. In fact, the life in the Spirit is such a different life that some of your former associates will probably discuss the question of whether or not you are mentally disturbed. A.W. Tozer
I have had some (believers and non-believers) suggest to me that my commitment to God is excessive and even compulsive. They have even suggested that I need to “get a life.” For me it’s better to be obedient for eternity than disobedient for a lifetime. Should we have it any other way?