A Proactive Plan of Obedience

We will be summarizing week one of the Bible study I have been reading called, "Discerning God's Voice" by Priscilla Shirer.

First, we are going to look at two different stories of Abraham:

1 Now the Lord had said to Abram:

“Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. 2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Genesis 12:1-3

2 Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”

3 So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.

Genesis 22:2-3

Wow... God was calling Abraham to go from his country, his people, and his household and he promised blessings on his life. Then, God calls him to give up his ONLY son. Seems pretty radical, huh!? Abraham could have easily said no. He could have let fear, stubbornness, laziness, comfort, and being too busy get in his way. He could have hesitated on listening to God, but he said yes. He was hearing from God.

Do you want to hear from God like Abraham?

Obedience can be an intimidating word. For some people, it comes natural and for other's their life experiences makes it hard to obey. God's voice in our life is tender and His heart is for us and He wants to steer us toward His best for our lives. It can lead us to freedom, wholeness, blessings, and abundance.

"Obedience is not a no; it is actually His best yes." (Shirer, pg 16)

The Plan

What are things in your life that you have to plan for so you don’t fail at getting it done or doing it right?

For me it is, my daily to-do list, lesson planning for my classroom, planning out practices for the sports I coach, my workouts, and my meals for the week. I can be forgetful and scatter brained if I don't plan out my day to day activities.

So, why would we not plan to hear from God and spend time with him daily?

In story of Abraham, we can see that he used the following:

- Preparation: The journey to Mount Moriah took three days

- Strategy: He gathered supplies ahead of time

- Accountability: He brought two servants along to provide help

-Intentionality: He brought charcoal for fires

- Dedication: He carefully nursed the pottery containers

How can we prepare ourselves to hear from God?

- For me, it is getting my heart and mind clear of mental and physical distractions. Putting away my phone and have a book or specific Bible study to read each day. Prepare to hear from God and be obedient to His voice.

How can we make a strategy to obey God?

- We have an enemy that will do anything to keep you away from hearing God's voice. We must listen to that small nudge that God is calling us to spend time with Him daily. That voice that is telling you that you are "too busy" is not God's voice. Have a strategy against the enemy by planning to hear from God through His word.

How can we use accountability to hear from God?

- Who you choose to surround yourself with matters, a lot! God can use people in your life to speak to you. Also, he can use you to speak through for others. Will you take the necessary precautions to cut out people or pastimes that influence you towards disobedience?

How can we be intentional with our time with God?

- We must shift our attitudes and say "Yes I will obey God." There have been many times in my life where I had little faith that I was hearing God correctly. I have delayed my obedience. I did not spend time with Him and expect to hear His voice in my life. We must go into prayer intentionally wanting to hear His voice and planning to obey it.

How can we be dedicated with our time with God?

- Set a specific time each day to spend with Him. Dedicate your ear to obey His voice in your life.

The Cost

We all have our struggles that we cling tightly to. We all have personal ambitions,relationships, expectations, and successes that we like to hang on to long after God has called to let them go. Sometimes letting go of those things doesn't make sense or doesn't seem worth it. We want to carry them around a little longer or even for a lifetime.

Is there an area in your life in which you currently resisting obedience because of the cost of "letting go"?

Let's think back to the story of Abraham. God was calling him to let go of his people, life, home and country. So, can you imagine what God is telling us to let go of in our own life so we can fully hear His voice? Just like Abraham we can enjoy the physical, visible, and tangible blessings that God has in store for our lives when we obey.

The Time

When God instructed Abraham to leave his homeland he obeyed immediately. That is one area that I struggle with personally. Sometimes I hear God's voice, but I hesitate on obeying or I don't obey at all. When I think back when I did obey I can trace back direct blessings in my life because of obedience. I am not exactly like Abraham and rise early in the morning to prepare to hear from God everyday. I doubt that I can do what God is calling me to do most of the time.

This hit me in the heart: Delayed obedience is disobedience.

Whatttt!?

His word says,

"He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and [a]manifest Myself to him.” John 14:21

So, God is saying to radically be obedient to His voice. Don't wait another second to start! We must prepare before we hear from God and choose to respond after we hear His voice. God doesn't just speak to be heard, he speaks to be obeyed.