In today’s devotion we are going to look at the final four reasons why obeying God is not only required by Christians but very rewarding.
Reason 7.
When we listen to God, we bring Him glory. As we read the Psalms the overwhelming central theme is that of praising the Lord. But why praise God? Because praise is one of the highest forms of worship. (Psalm 50:23) says: “Whoso offereth praise glorifieth Me…” To bring glory to God – There can be no more important endeavor or thrill in a person’s life than this.
Reason 8.
Obedience to God is exciting! As we begin to walk in God’s ways, we begin a journey through life that will constantly be filled with challenges to excel in our desire to please the Lord. Trials and tribulations will hit us just as hard, if not harder, than those, non-believers experience in life – but there is an eternal purpose and meaning in them for us. As we overcome these trials, we begin to see the reality of (Romans 8:29) in our lives: “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son…” What a privilege to be molded by God Himself to be like Himself.
Reason 9.
We may find it hard to understand but I believe that to obey God is not so much for God’s benefit but for our own. In the beginning of this devotional series on obedience to God, we read in (Deut. 10:12-13) just what the Lord requires from us. In short, He wants us to totally trust, love, and serve Him. But I left off the last part of (verse 13) which say: “…for your good?” We also read in (Deut. 6:24): “So the Lord commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God for our good always…” God knows that the more we listen and obey Him, the better it will be for us as we can see from all of my previous reasons, and praise the Lord, for the most exciting tenth reason to follow.
Reason 10.
In today’s society we have so many avenues to invest our time, energies, and money in. In the 1600’s some early Americans, we are told, bought Manhattan island from the Indians for only $24 in trinkets. But just think what could have happened if those early Indians would have invested that $24 in a simple savings account, and left it there for their great ancestors in the year 2020. Thanks to the magic of compound interest, that $24, assuming a 5% a year rate of interest, would be worth billions of dollars today.
But when we show obedience to God by investing in His Kingdom, and do as (Matthew 6:20) says: “But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal,” we literally guarantee ourselves an investment which has eternal compounding. We are told in (II Corinthians 4:17) when we endure the momentary light afflictions in our lives, by being obedient to God’s Word, we will see this investment in the Lord’s work producing for us, “…an eternal weight of glory…” Imagine having a bank account which has as its value, “an eternal weight of glory.”
Yes, obedience to God is not easy – but the rewards are out of this world!