Jesus follower.
I have been thinking lately about what obedience is.
Because I think a lot of people use the word like it means being nice, disciplined, or vaguely spiritual. It doesn’t. Obedience is saying yes to God. To His authority. To what He has already made clear in His Word.
To live as Jesus lived.
That’s where it gets expensive.
I can say I want God’s will and still be deeply committed to my own preferred outcome. I can pray about it. Talk about it. Even wait on it. And still be using God-language to protect my own agenda.
We make it sound holy.
It isn’t.
A lot of what we call discernment is just delay. We keep asking God what to do when the real issue is that we already know, and we do not like the cost.
Forgive them. Love your neighbor. Love your enemy! Tell the truth. Stay. Leave. Give. Serve. Stop. Begin. Admit it. Let it die.
That is the kind of obedience most people claim to want until it starts tearing at the version of life they were already obedient to.
Outcome is easier to grasp because outcome can be measured. It gives the flesh something to admire. Progress. Relief. Money. Recognition. Proof.
Obedience often gives you none of that at first. Sometimes obedience looks like loss. Sometimes it makes you look foolish. Sometimes it strips you of the very result you were using to reassure yourself that God was on your side.
Are you following Jesus? Or are you just hoping God will bless the life you already selected?
That question has teeth because it reaches past behavior and into motive. I know how easily I can call something peace when it is really control.
Maybe the real test is not whether obedience works.
Maybe the real test is whether God is still worthy when obedience does not produce the outcome you wanted.
That is where Jesus following becomes real.
And holy.
Shift/Insight
Obedience is not obedience to your desired future. It is obedience to God Himself, even when His direction threatens the outcome you were counting on.
Today’s Nudge
Ask yourself: “Where do I already know what God requires, but I keep stalling because I do not like what it will cost?” Write down the first answer. Don’t soften it.
Faith Connection
James says, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”
Jesus called people to follow, and trust Him with the outcome.