OBEDIENCE DURING CHALLENGES
Life is full of challenges. Every human has his own share of it in one form or the other. As children of God, He will see us through the period of challenges, no matter how rough or tedious the journey may be. He speaks his word to lead us aright in the midst of the turbulence, this can be in form of a deep impression on our hearts, a revelation or any other means, to guide our path in times of such pressures of life. The vital thing at this point is to obey. God sees our pains and is always ready to help. After prayers, obedience is the key step to attain victory during the challenges of life. Obedience is better than sacrifice.
In IKings Chapters 17 – 19 (with focus on Chapter 17: 1 – 16), God still communicated with Elijah in the midst of a drought in Israel. He spared him from the wicked act of Jezebel and her husband, King Ahab. Elijah always obeyed the instructions from God and this gave him constant victory. The Bible passage taught us that God is Jehovah Jireh and can use any good means to achieve provision for His children. God kept providing food for Elijah through the ravens with divine instructions that Elijah obeyed. If Elijah had not obeyed, and decided to apply his own wisdom, due to conditions surrounding him, he would definitely have missed God’s divine provision amidst the famine.
Looking at Chapter 17: 8 – 16, we see Elijah’s obedience to God’s direction. He was directed to go to Zarephath to meet a widow and he went. He could have reasoned with his human wisdom- “how could a widow, a poor citizen, feed me at the time of famine?” but he didn’t question, he went. There was also submission to the instruction of Elijah by the widow. She could have disobeyed that order with candid reasons, but she submitted with faith. She had honour for the man of God and God. She was blessed beyond human imaginations and we still make reference to her attitude till date.
We may perceive most of the instructions given as against our wishes or not palatable, but God works wonders in mysterious ways. The story of Naaman the commander of the army of Syria, who was a leper but obeyed the divine instruction of God also corroborated this. Prophet Elisha instructed him to dip himself in river Jordan seven times. To Naaman, this sounded rude and unpleasant at first, but submission to this divine order manifested great cleansing for him, he received his healing. God opens up ways and can make a divine turn around destinies in ways that seem unpleasant before men.
Solution to problems and challenges that most Christians encounter will be solved with obedience to divine instructions. When we obey, we pave way for divine interventions. Jesus obeyed God, brought salvation to us all and we celebrate this yearly. The fruit of disobedience is very painful and might require the mercy of God to reverse its consequences. We must however be sure of what he speaks to us, it will bring peace to our hearts and will not contradict the scriptures. Once we are clear, we should go ahead and obey. He is ever faithful to His words and will sure bless us. When the Saviour speaks to you, JUST OBEY!