1 Peter 1:14 KJV
[14] “as obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:”
God wants His children to be concerned with obedience to His will. He wants our lives consumed with obedience. He wants our obedience to be a delight, not a chore. It should make us happy to please our Heavenly Father through obedience. We are to be controlled by obedience. In other words, He wants us to base every decision in life depending on whether it will lead us down a path of obedience or disobedience to God’s Word. That should always be the deciding factor in our lives. It is not hard to obey God if we choose to do what He desires.
Think about the life of Jesus when He was here on earth. We catch a small glimpse of His boyhood when He was twelve. Luke 2:51 tells us that He was subject to His earthly parents, but He was always under the authority of His Heavenly Father and desired to please Him in all things.
Jesus is the perfect example of obedience in the Bible. He left a great example for every believer to live by. Philippians 2:5-8 teaches that Christ became obedient even unto death. We are without excuse whenever it comes to living an obedient life. I understand that we are sinful flesh and that Christ was God in the flesh. However, we have God’s Word to instruct us, God’s Spirit to guide us, and God’s Son to show us how to live in obedience.
Dear reader, begin your day with saturation in the Word of God. Read your Bible before you get into the flow of the morning. Secondly, start your day with supplication. Take the time to bow your head and pray to your Father. Ask Him for strength and guidance throughout the day. Finally, start your day with complete surrender to do His will in your life. I understand the difference between surrender and submission, but sometimes the battle of the flesh is so great that one must wave the white flag of surrender and say, “Lord, I choose not to allow the flesh to get the best of me today”. Submission is a daily prayer. In the hard times of your life, where the flesh keeps defeating you, surrender in despair, and He will help you to obey His Word and do His will.
Obedience is a matter of the heart. If you want to obey God, you can, but you must be willing to walk according to His ways and not your own. Remember that He knows what is best for us. We have to live by His commandments and not our own rules.