HONOR YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER BY YOUR OBEDIENCE !

Hello [subscriber:firstname | default:Beloved],

« The LORD shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee » : This is the blessing your heavenly Father has in store for you, whom He considers His son/daughter (Deuteronomy 28:8). What an honor for you and me! However, this blessing does not attach to the lives of many of God’s children because they do not honor the Father. “I will honor the one who honors me“: this is what the Lord says in 1 Samuel 2:30.

To honor someone is to have consideration for them, to treat them with great respect and consideration, to have a high regard for them. There are many ways to honor God, but today I would like to focus on one of them : obedience.

The Bible asks us, in Ephesians 6:2, to honor our parents, if we want to be happy. But this verse is preceded by one that speaks about the obedience we owe them: « Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right » (Ephesians 6:1). To obey God, the heavenly Father, is to honor Him. You cannot claim to honor the Lord without obeying Him!

Unfortunately, this is what King Saul did while Israel was at war with the Amalekites. The Lord had commanded him to utterly destroy all that belonged to the enemy Amalek, but Saul disobeyed this command, claiming to want to honor God. « (…) have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal. » replied Saul to prophet Samuel (1 Samuel 15:20-21). The response of the prophet Samuel was not long in coming: “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams » (1 Samuel 15:22).

Why seek to honor God with offerings and sacrifices when we refuse to obey Him? When you obey someone, you submit to them, conforming to what they command or forbid. « A son honoureth his father, (…) if then I be a father, where is mine honour? », asks the Lord in Malachi 1:6. God expects you to listen to Him and obey Him. Obedience consists in applying what is written in the Bible. How many Christians refuse to apply the Word by trying to justify their behavior? Others argue about certain parts of the Word. « But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves » emphasizes James 1:22. The Word of God continues: « Ye shall walk in all the ways which the LORD your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess » (Deuteronomy 5 :33).

God is your Father and you must honor Him by obeying His word and His instructions. He asks you to forgive that one who betrayed you? Obey, even if you think you are totally right! Has God commanded you to end that guilty intimate relationship you have with a particular person? Stop looking for excuses and obey!

The Lord distinguishes His sons who honor Him. « But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you», says the Lord in Jeremiah 7:23. Yes, obeying God is not only a sign that you honor and love Him, but it is more than beneficial for you. «If you have good will and are docile (obedient), you will eat the best productions of the land» (Isaiah 1:9). Honor your heavenly Father by obeying His Word and you will see His blessing cling to your life.

May God bless you!