Deeper Day 201: Learning Obedience

During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the One Who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverent submission. Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from what He suffered and, once made perfect, He became the Source of eternal salvation for  all who obey Him and was designated by God to be High Priest in the order of Melchizedek. Hebrews 5:7-10

I visited a church recently and the sermon was based upon this scripture. When he read it, it struck my heart like an arrow. There is so much packed into these few verses, and it couldn’t feel more relevant for today, in my opinion.

Let’s look at this part…

He learned obedience from what He suffered

Wow. Isn’t it interesting that in a day and age where everyone wants comfort in all circumstances and parents are called “lawnmower parents” because they’ve gone from hovering over their child’s every move to completely mowing out the way in front of them, God reminds us that it’s in suffering that we learn obedience. Let that settle on your spirit. God didn’t intend for you to have a perfectly neat and easy life. He intended for you to learn obedience in the struggles.

I know, without a doubt, that I wouldn’t be who I am today without the struggles I’ve faced. Yes, at times I have asked God why things have to be so hard, but if you know me, then you know that although I hate struggle, I also won’t back down from it. Over all these years of struggle and learning to become obedient, I have developed a deep-rooted determination. It has also given me a boldness that I certainly didn’t have as a child.

I hate to admit it, but I needed the struggles, and the truth is so do you.

Instead of avoiding all conflict, what if we leaned into God’s heart? What if instead of recklessly running into conflict, we learn restraint and self-control? You see, this is where character is forged. Learning the balance between not running away and not recklessly pushing forward, but instead to remain steady in storms and allowing God to guide our every step. That’s obedience.

I feel like the words in the above scripture and what God’s had me write about them, might feel like such an eye opener, so I will leave it at that for today. I encourage you to re-read that scripture and pay attention to the other lessons we can learn from it because I only chose to highlight one part, but there is so much more to be devoured.

Prayer Moment: God, help me to walk out obedience with You. I don’t want to be rebellious. I want to walk in lock step with Your Spirit. Infuse within me a heart that is so satisfied with Your love that I avoid disobedience. You are my Source, my Strength, my Everything and I love You. In Jesus name, Amen.