Just Obey!

One of the most difficult things to address is blatant disobedience. It shows a lack of respect when you are assigned a task and you choose not to do it. It’s easier to work with someone who doesn’t understand the task or lacks the ability to accomplish what was asked but what do you do with the individual who blatantly refuses to do the assigned task?

Well, in the book of Jonah, we meet an individual who did just that. God gave him an assignment to go to Nineveh and he didn’t want to go. Jonah 1:3 NLT tells us, “But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord. He went down to the port of Joppa, where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish. He bought a ticket and went on board, hoping to escape from the Lord by sailing to Tarshish.” He picked up himself and went in the opposite direction. However, his actions had consequences. 

God was not going to sit back as Jonah disobeyed; God caused a really violent storm to shake the ship. It appears that disobedience made him extremely tired because he slept through the violent storm. The sailors did everything they could to safeguard the ship and its passengers. When they found Jonah asleep, they woke him up. They asked him to pray to his God for help. Jonah’s disobedience presented a hardship in the lives of those around him. 

God does not take kindly to disobedience. Deuteronomy 28:1 says, “If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully keep all his commands that I am giving you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the world.” However, verse 15 tells us what happens when we disobey; “But if you refuse to listen to the Lord your God and do not obey all the commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come and overwhelm you.” Moses went on to list a number of unpleasant things. God is looking for obedience. We just need to obey. 

Thought for Today, Friend, do what’s right and obey God.

Have a blessed day and walk in faith and victory.