Practical Lessons for Understanding the Word of God

Obedience Always Brings Blessing

KEY PASSAGE: Psalm 24:1-5 | Supporting Scripture: Mark 9:41 | Luke 6:21-23| Romans 8:28 2 Corinthians 11:23-27 | 2 Timothy 4:7

SUMMARY:
Obedience always brings blessing.
You might read this statement and say, That may be true for you, but it hasnt been true in my life. If you feel that way, its possible that you have been expecting the Lord to answer your prayers in a particular way. As a result, you have missed how He wanted to bless you. What is a blessing? I personally define it as anything that is an expression of Gods love or goodness towards us. Answers to prayer, miraculous provision, and unexpected favor are some examples. We easily recognize these as Gods gifts, but He sometimes chooses to bless us in different ways. For instance, He gives us strength, joy, and peace throughout seemingly impossible hardships, and He uses suffering to mature us spiritually. Gods blessings come in a variety of forms, but we can be assured that obedience to Him always brings blessing.

slavery, and Moses became one of the most important spiritual leaders in history.
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oshua followed the Lords command J in battle. Instead of using the typical military strategies of the time, the army marched around Jericho for seven days. After that, God caused the wall surrounding the city to fall, giving the Israelites the victory.

David honored God by refusing to harm His anointed king, Saul. As a result, David was made king at just the right time.

Jehoshaphat obeyed the Lord when the Aramites attacked Judah. God promised that He would give His people the victory. As Judahs choir sang songs of praise, the enemy destroyed themselves in confusion, and Jehoshaphats army didnt even have to fight.
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Peter cast his net in the middle of the day at Jesus command. Consequently, he caught an enormous amount of fish. More importantly, he saw Christ for who He was and eventually became a leader in the early church. God called Paul to follow Jesus. This meant accepting the theology of the people he had been persecutingthe first Christians. Because he chose to obey God and take the gospel to the Gentiles, He became the most influential apostle.

Scriptural Principles:
Biblical Examples
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God asked Noah to build a large boat. It preserved his family during the flood.

The Lord called Abraham to leave his homeland and follow Him. Not only did Abraham experience great material prosperity, but he also became known as the father of the great nation of Israel.
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Types of Blessing
Gods gifts arent always obvious. However, when you obey Him, He may bless you with:
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Moses obeyed God by telling Pharaoh to free the Israelites. The people were freed from

Peace, joy, and contentment. These internal qualities often result when we step out in faith and obey God.
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Spiritual growth. The next time God asks us to do something challenging, we have more faith to obey.

Him completely. If we respond correctly to loss and suffering, well find blessing through them.
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eternal blessings. When we stand before God on judgment day, we will be rewarded for our obedience. Scripture says we will be honored even for small things (see Mark 9:41; Luke 6:21-23).

to prevent pride. Suffering reminds us that all good things are gifts from God rather than things we earn through our own efforts. to remove idols from our lives. Anything we worship aside from the Lord is a problem. He causes all things to work together for our good (Rom. 8:28). So if he removes a positive thing from our lives, He must have a purpose, even if we cant see it at the time. to deepen our understanding of His ways. When God does something and we arent sure why, we can anticipate learning something new about how He operates. to demonstrate His faithfulness to His children. In hard times, you and I have the opportunity to become living examples of the goodness of God. Others can watch how we respond to overwhelming adversity, and, through us, they can begin to understand His loving care.

Suffering Before Blessing

Often, the first effect of obedience is not a blessing, but suffering. Sometimes, what God requires of us will initially lead to pain and hurt. So when we experience difficulty, we shouldnt assume weve made a mistake or He has abandoned us. Lets look at two significant examples of suffering as a result of obedience:
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Moses followed Gods command to lead His people out of egypt. Although Moses was afraid, he went to Pharaoh and demanded that Gods people be set free. At first, things didnt go wellMoses miracles were easily mimicked by the Egyptian magicians, and Pharaoh refused to give in. Then, once the people were set free, it wasnt long before they began to complain about life in the desert and Moses leadership. Another time, they made an idol in the form of a calf and began to worship it instead of the Lord. Despite these challenges, Moses is known as the most important leader in the Old Testament.

cOnclUSiOn:
If you obey God, can you expect His blessings? Yes. But remember that His choice of blessing may be different from yours. Even when you undergo loss and pain, you can witness Gods goodness. Perhaps He is using your suffering to draw you more closely to Himself or to remove those things in your life that keep you from being spiritually fruitful. The Father loves you, which means Hell do whatever it takes to remove those things that keep you from walking in the center of His will. Often, His blessings arent things that can be touched or seen. Sometimes, the best way God enriches our lives is by revealing more of who He is.

paul obeyed God by preaching the gospel. As a result, he suffered tremendous persecution, danger, and physical abuse (2 Cor. 11:23-27). Part of his mistreatment included being falsely accused and thrown in jail, but he considered it a joy to suffer for the cause of Christ. Because he was imprisoned, he had time to write many important books including Romans, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians. Thats why, at the end of his life, he could boldly claim, I have fought the good fight; I have finished the course, I have kept the faith (2 Tim. 4:7). His obedience resulted in supernatural blessing.
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Does suffering have a purpose?

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