The prophetess Deborah at God’s command, took the leadership position against Israel enemies, when Barak refused to lead. I will surely go with you, she said, nevertheless, the trip you will take will not be for your glory, for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. The Lord gave the prophetess and Judge Deborah the victory. She concluded her song of victory by saying, So Let all Your enemies perish, O Lord! But let those who love Him be like the sun when it rises in its might. “And the land had peace and rest for forty years.” (Judges 5). Even though the battle belongs to the Lord, He still seeks people who are willing to take their leadership position to fight for Him.
A widow from Zarephath, although had but a handful of meal and a little oil to eat as her last meal because of the famine, did not deny the prophet Elijah when he asked her to make him a cake first. Poor and hopeless without any resources, she had lost all hope during that famine time; she measured every meal, making sure it would last one more day before all was gone. That day, however, when she was preparing her last bite before she faced death, the Prophet Elijah came to her as the Lord commanded him. She was to prepare a cake for him first and lastly for her. Now, it took faith on her part for her to believe the prophet in view of her lack of food and hunger. Elijah promised her abundance, according to the word from the Lord by saying, the Lord, the God of Israel, says, the jar of meal shall not waste away, or the bottle of oil fail until the day that the Lord sends rain on the earth (I Kings 17:12-15). Elijah’s words came to pass, so that she and her household ate for many days. The step she took to obey saved her from the famine of that time. Our God is never late to bless the obedient and faithful servant, amidst his trials.
Holding to what we have will never increase its measure; it is only when we share, that the measure will increase in the hands of others and will come back to us. The young boy with only five loaves of bread and two fish experienced firsthand the miracle of multiplication when he gave them to YAHSHUA. Before his eyes YAHSHUA fed more than five thousand people. All it took for YAHSHUA to perform that miracle was obedience from a small boy, who was willing to share his lunch with others. That made many people happy and he happier yet, seeing his small portion feed thousands of hungry people. I imagine that this experience guided him to strong faith for the rest of his life.
Nothing hindered Paul from obeying the calling to serve God. Previously a hater of God’s people, Paul was now on the other side of the picture, willing to die for Christ. Leaving everything he had to follow the cause, he said, But whatever former things I had that might have been gains to me, I have considered as loss for Christ’s sake (Philippians 3:9). Knowing his time was near when he was going to offered as a sacrifice, he uttered these words: I fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith; there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge will award to me on that day (II Timothy 4:7).
Obedience opens the door to the presence of God, where all blessings come from; it unites us with our heavenly Father and changes us to love Him more in surrendering all we have to Him, believing that in dying, we shall live eternally; in losing, we shall gain the crown of righteousness; in giving, we shall receive; and in suffering, we shall be transformed into the likeness of Jesus, into one degree of glory to another. Obedience is bliss!
THINK ABOUT IT!
Light from the Word 