Obey

"Do good to your servant, and I will live; I will obey your word."
(Psalm 119:17)

Obedience is not part of many people's vocabulary today. Like the Psalmist we desire that God will do good for us and give us life but we are not willing to practice obedience. People do not like to commit themselves to obedience. It has been taken out of many marriage vows because it is an antiquated idea, yet today we find that almost half the marriages end in divorce. Today we would rather demand our rights than obey the laws. God has given us many rights and privileges as His children but He demands obedience from us. Obedience demands a conscious act of our will. We must say that we will obey. It is not enough for us to promise our lives and talents if we will not obey what He demands of us.

I read about a minister who asked the youth of his congregation to point out any antiquated words or expressions that we may use in his sermons. One word they pointed out was obey. They said it was not part of their vocabulary today.

The people in Joshua's day promised Joshua that they would remain faithful to their God but Joshua would not accept their commitment until he knew that it came from their hearts. When the people finally uttered those three small words, "We will obey!" then he knew that they would do what they had promised. Like the children of Israel, we too must say from our hearts, "We will obey!" and then we can expect that God will do good to us and give us life.