The Pain of Obedience

     As I was driving in to work this morning I was thinking about the statements Jesus made that he would never leave us or forsake us and his claim in John 10 that we are his sheep and no one can pluck us out of his hand.   I was meditating on his love for us and, as my mind often does, it began to wonder down  a different road of thought.  “Does God really love me if I continue to sin?”  “What if I am unwilling or unable to overcome this or that sin in my life—am I still saved?”  “Or have I been plucked out of his hand?”  “Or maybe I wasn’t ever in his hand to start?”  I’ll be honest, and maybe it’s just that I am a wimp, but those questions are too big for me.  I know that faith in the Lord Jesus saves us and I know that the power of the Holy Spirit transforms us.  I know that his love for us motivates us to love him in obedience and there are so many verses in the Bible that equate our love with our obedience.  You just can’t get away from it.  If you say you love God but there are major flaws and holes in your obedience, something is wrong. 

     As I continued to allow my mind to chase the thoughts that were coming to me, I asked myself, “Why do so many believers have such a hard time obeying?”  The answer flooded my mind like a tsunami.  It’s because obedience hurts.  It’s often very painful to obey the Lord.  We have to relinquish our goals and aspirations.  Sometimes we use sinful things to medicate our pain and to give up the sin means allowing the pain to come back.  So many folks addicted to alcohol, drugs, porn or food are doing so because it helps alleviate their hurts.

    Immediately on the heels of that conclusion, God seemed to bring to mind a verse from Philippians.  In chapter three, verse ten Paul says that his greatest desire is to know Jesus and the power of his resurrection and the “fellowship of his sufferings.”  So often we want the power of Jesus’ resurrection in our lives but we don’t want to know any of the suffering that comes by our obedience.  Jesus suffered because of his obedience.  He suffered emotionally.  He suffered physically.  I think he may have suffered spiritually as His Father turned his back on him while he paid for our sin.

     I wonder this morning, how much am I willing to suffer to be found obedient to God?  How much are you willing to suffer?    Do you think I might be right?  Could it be we have such a hard time obeying because we are so unwilling to suffer for God?  Yet the Bible says that Jesus suffered greatly for us--- shouldn’t our love motivate us to suffer the pain of obedience?

    I hesitate to share this story since I no longer live in it’s reality but I want to.  Years ago I had an experience with the Lord where he confronted me with my sin of gluttony.  He asked me if I loved him more than food and I knew I did.  I remember him so clearly asking me, “Then are you willing to be hungry for my sake?”  At that moment, at that time, I knew that I was and for the next three years I ate so as to honor him even though I often felt the discomfort of wanting to eat but not doing it.

    Beloved, obedience isn’t an option for us, but with it often comes suffering and pain.  My hope and prayer is that God might stir us up and we might say with Paul, “I want to know the fellowship of his sufferings!”  Are you willing to obey even if you must suffer?  Are you willing to love Jesus even though loving Him may be painful to do so?  

    Why not take a minute to recognize the pain that is involved in surrendering yourself to obey the Lord.   What is God calling you to do that if you obey you will hurt?  What sin is their in your life that if you stop doing it, the result will be pain?  Then answer the question, do you love Jesus enough to go through the suffering?  He loved you enough.