7 Ways To Show Obedience To God

Have you ever thought to yourself, “I want to give God my obedience. I want to give him my all, but I’m not sure where to start.”? I think it’s safe to say that we all have been there at some point. You also might be feeling as if you’re giving God your full obedience and suddenly it hits you that…you haven’t been. The topic of obedience to God is one that seems easy, but can be really difficult in practice.

Deuteronomy 8:1 says, “The whole commandment that I command you today, you shall be careful to do that you may live and multiply and go in and possess the land that the Lord swore to give your fathers.”

Today, we are going to take a closer look at some ways that we can show obedience to God in our everyday lives. I’ve got 7 areas that we can focus our attention on, and they’re not hard at all! I actually found them in my study bible, and I’m going to expound on them with my own thoughts. If you’ve been struggling with this topic or even if you feel like you’ve got it all together, I encourage you to read this list and see where you might be able to improve in your obedience to God. We can always do better, because we are all sinners!

OBEDIENCE WITH OUR WORK
How many times have you thought about how much you dislike your job? If you haven’t ever thought that, you’re a lucky girl! I know that all too often, I find myself frustrated with my job and wishing I could be somewhere else doing something else. Sometimes I get in a serious funk about where I am right now. You too?

Here’s the thing. When we get in that funk and aren’t exactly grateful & trusting in God, it’s wrong. God has placed us in here in our present circumstances for a reason. He gave you the work that He did for A REASON. We may not understand the exact reason why we have the jobs that we do, but there is a meaning in the madness. If we ask God to help us be obedient in our work and bring us contentment, joy, and rest…He will! It’s our job to be obedient in the present place and trust in Him, and God will do the rest!

OBEDIENCE WITH OUR MINDS

Your thoughts are so powerful. What we think often becomes what we say and what we do. Another way that we can show obedience to God is by immersing ourselves in His word and keeping our thoughts pure. This means to spend time with the bible and pray daily, avoid gossip and negative situations, stop watching, reading, or listening to things that don’t align with His principles, memorize scripture, etc. Let’s ask God to help us ensure that our thoughts align with His!

OBEDIENCE WITH OUR HEARTS

Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this:‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” -Mark 12:29-31

The verse above lays this out and makes it really simple for us! We are to (1) Love God with everything that we have inside us and (2) Love those around us as much as we love ourselves. Sounds easy right? In theory, yes, but in practice…it can be hard sometimes!

Even though it might be hard to show obedience to God through our hearts, it’s what we are called to do! This can be something as simple as sharing a kind word and patience to someone who normally makes you frustrated or something as big as forgiving your spouse when he/she does something to really upset you. We must strive to show God’s love to others through loving them ourselves just as God would.

Being obedient to God with our hearts also means that we must love God above all else. This means that I must love God before my husband, my pets, my family, my cell-phone, etc. This world offers many distractions to pull us away from Him, but it is our job to ensure that we are growing as close to Him as possible and demonstrating our love for Him above all else!

It also means that our husbands cannot fill all of our needs. At times we may feel upset or frustrated that our spouse doesn’t understand our emotions or how to help with a problem we may be having. That is because our husbands just don’t have what it takes to be everything that we need them to be. God does. We need to make sure that we are going to God FIRST instead of depending on our husbands to be everything to us. It frees our husbands from that burden, and it also shows that we are being obedient to God with our hearts and loving Him above all else.

OBEDIENCE WITH OUR GOALS

If you’re a goal setter like me, you know how amazing it can be to sit down and write out all the things you want to accomplish! But how many times do you actually stop to make sure that your goals align with the plans that God has for you? In order to show obedience to God, we need to be making sure that our goals and plans align with God’s. This may be as simple as praying over your idea before proceeding with it or it could mean scratching something completely off your list.

One of the biggest things that I struggle with is ensuring that the glory is going to God and His kingdom instead of myself. Often, I will post a picture on Instagram with a lengthy caption, and I’ll feel really good about myself when others respond well to it. It’s not wrong to feel happy in that situation, but being prideful when I hit a new goal or write a well-received post isn’t in line with God’s values. From now own, let’s make sure that our goals align with God’s plan and that we are ambitious for His kingdom instead of ourselves.

OBEDIENCE WITH OUR TALENTS

To go with what we talked about above, we also must make sure that we are showing obedience to God through our talents. Everything that we are able to do and accomplish is because God allows us to do so. Everything that we are is a gift from Him. So, it makes sense that we should be using all of those talents and gifts to glorify Him! If you’ve got a great voice, sing for Jesus! If you are great with people, go out and speak about what God has done for you. If you’re good with social media, connect with others who may need to know Him. Whatever you are good at, use that to shine a light for God’s Kingdom!

OBEDIENCE WITH OUR FINANCES

“No one has ever become poor from giving.” -Maya Angelou

Living obediently means giving freely. The underlying theme of this post is that everything we have is from God. This includes our income, belongings, food, etc. When we think of it think of it that way, it’s easy to see why we are called to be so generous with what He has given us.

I saw a quote on Pinterest from John MacArthur that says, “Christians are but God’s stewards. Everything we have is on loan from the Lord, entrusted to us for a while to use in serving Him.” Yes! So true! Let’s strive to be obedient with our finances and give joyfully! We are so lucky to have all that we have ( no matter how much that is ), and it’s up to us to give without holding back. Whether it’s tithing, donating to an organization, giving to the homeless, or helping a friend in need, give!

Malachi 3:10 – Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.

OBEDIENCE WITH OUR BODY

God created it, Jesus died for it, and the Spirit lives in it. We MUST take care of our bodies and use them in a way that honors God! This means that we need to exercise, eat well, and ensure that we are keeping our bodies pure for our spouses/future spouses. Let’s break the three of those down just a bit more so we can understand them a little better.

Exercise. There are a few people on the planet that just LOVE to workout, but don’t be frustrated if that’s not you. I’m not that way either! It really helps me get motivated in the gym when I think about the fact that God made me with such care, though. It makes me want to take better care of my body and see what it can do! If you have trouble staying motivated in the gym, try putting on some Christian music that pumps you up.

I haven’t found any other station that makes me feel more able to take on my workout than a station singing about our Lord. You can also try making a Pinterest board of motivational quotes to turn to when things get tough and you don’t want to work out. Whatever you do, just remember that by staying fit, you’re showing God that you appreciate His creation!

Eating well. Pizza tastes better than salad…fact. Ha!  This might be the hardest part of staying healthy, but eating well is essential to keeping a strong body for God. Think of it this way, when we have a healthy body, we are more able to spend the energy needed to seek out others to tell about Christ! It’s hard to do that if you’re unhealthy and unable to seek out all the people that God intends for you to find! Eating well ensures that we have energy and clarity! And with those things + help from Christ, we will be able to minister to people we meet in everyday life.

Keeping our bodies pure. This topic is always a controversial one, and I’m not sure why. Check out what the bible says below…

Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. – 1 Corinthians 6:18-20

God intends for us to enjoy the gift of sex…with our husbands after marriage! There are so many other verses about this topic in the bible, but this is one of them that sticks out to me the most. It states that a sexual sin is a sin against your own body. Your body was a gift from God and is a temple for the Holy Spirit inside you. Therefore, sexually immorality is a sin against your own body and the one who created it and lives within it! We can show obedience to God by obeying His Word and saving this special gift for marriage. And by doing that, we can glorify Him with our body!