Written by Patty Johnston

Verse: And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed unto the day of redemption. Ephesians 4:30.

Original Translation: ‘grieve’ in Greek is lupete. It’s from the word lupe which means sorrow, pain, grief. This word was used to describe a married couple who found out that their spouse had been unfaithful. It describes that deep, hurtful, grieving pain that would come from finding out that you had been betrayed.

Have you ever thought about how the Holy Spirit feels when we act in ungodly ways? The Holy Spirit loves us and wants us to live a godly life and live our life committed wholly to Him. When we fall into sin, it’s like a husband or wife who strays from their spouse. That hurt goes deeper than if a friend had betrayed you. So this gives us insight into how much the Holy Spirit loves us and how deeply we hurt Him when we disobey Him.

Below is Written by Nichole Henson

Walking in Obedience

Definition of Obedience: compliance with an order, request, or law or submission to another’s authority.

As Christians we are called to obey God and His Word.

1 John 3:24 The one who habitually keeps His commandments [obeying His word and following His precepts, abides and] remains in Him, and He in him. By this we know and have the proof that He [really] abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us [as a gift].

John 14:15 “If you [really] love Me, you will keep and obey My commandments.

We should know and obey the entire message found in the His Word (Bible). We cannot pick and choose what we want to follow and we cannot just rely on others to feed us His Word. We must know it for ourselves. When we only listen to the teaching of others we are being fed their interpretation of what they think the Bible means. Hopefully they are being led by the Holy Spirit to deliverance the teaching, but the only way we can know for sure is if we know the Word for ourselves. We will never know if the teaching we are following is off if we cannot compare it to the Bible for ourselves.

The Bible is our roadmap to living. It teaches us how to live, what He expects from us, who He is, who we are in Him, what the Christian life looks like, spiritual warfare, etc. Everything we need is found in His Word. There is not one situation we can face that His Word does not address. That is why we must read the whole thing and not just pick and choose what we want to hear.

The Old Testament is just as important as the New Testament. It is still the Word of God. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The OT is still applicable to our lives and there are many lessons we can learn from reading it.

Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is [eternally changeless, always] the same yesterday and today and forever.

Malachi 3:6 “For I am the LORD, I do not change [but remain faithful to My covenant with you]; that is why you, O sons of Jacob, have not come to an end.

The OT teaches us the history of man, how sin entered the world, God’s remedy for sin, and how He feels about sin.

One of the differences between the OT and the NT is how we approach repentance and the covering of our sins. We no longer have to sacrifice animals when we sin. Jesus came as our perfect sacrifice. He was both our Priest and Perfect Sacrifice. He sacrificed Himself as the perfect sacrifice in place of the imperfect animals that used to be sacrificed for the remission of sin.

In the OT the people of God had to take animals to the priest to have them sacrificed for their sins. Jesus fulfilled the law when He became our perfect sacrifice. He was the perfect sacrifice so once and for all He sealed the sacrifice for those who accept Him as their personal Lord and Savior. Now we do not have to go to a priest with animals to sacrifice on our behalf. We can go directly to God for the remission of our sin. When we are guilty from sinning, we go to Him in repentance, and our sin is covered by His blood and His righteousness.

Examples of Not Walking in Obedience

The OT gives us a clear picture of what happens when we fail to walk in obedience to God. One of the major themes I always notice when I read the OT is His children start out by obeying Him, then because they did not remove all rebellion/idolatry/paganism they fell away from Him, He turned His face from them, their life got hard, because of how hard life got they repented, their repentance resulted in His forgiveness, then He gave them blessings and favor. This cycle happened over and over. Idolatry and rebellion always caused them to fall. They failed to obey Him by not removing all paganism and idolatry.

The children of Israel in the wilderness is one example. The journey should have taken 11 days, but it took 40 years because of their rebellion and idolatry.

Joshua 5:6 For the Israelites walked forty years in the wilderness, until all the nation, that is, the men of war who came out of Egypt, died because they did not listen to the voice of the LORD; to them the LORD had sworn [an oath] that He would not let them see the land which He had promised to their fathers to give us, a land [of abundance] flowing with milk and honey.

The entire book of Judges is a clear picture of the cycle of: rebellion/idolatry, falling away from God, and returning to God, over and over.

The issue in each situation was rebellion and Idolatry. We may think of idolatry as idols of false gods, and that is one form of idolatry, but anything we put above God in our lives becomes an idol. Family, relationships, food, status, job, children, money, stuff, drugs, false religions, etc. can become idols in our lives. Also, mixing in anything else (paganism, witchcraft, false religions) does not work-it is either or. We cannot mix in any form of paganism and still serve God.

I think there are many times we want to skip straight into the miracles, signs, wonders, and blessings, but we forget about the obedience part.

Exodus 15:25-26

25 Then he cried to the LORD [for help], and the LORD showed him a tree, [a branch of] which he threw into the waters, and the waters became sweet. There the LORD made a statute and an ordinance for them, and there He tested them, 26 saying, “If you will diligently listen and pay attention to the voice of the LORD your God, and do what is right in His sight, and listen to His commandments, and keep [foremost in your thoughts and actively obey] all His precepts and statutes, then I will not put on you any of the diseases which I have put on the Egyptians; for I am the LORD who heals you.”

2 Chronicles 7:13-14

13 If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people; 14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

As we can see so many times the blessing only comes after obeying. If we find the scriptures about the blessings and back up a little bit, we can see our requirements. But so many times it seems we want to skip right past the obeying part. That is why it is so important to read all the scriptures and not just in part.

God is love, but what loving parent doesn’t discipline their children? What loving parent doesn’t want what is best for their children and will do the hard parts to make sure they are living their best life and our best life is not about comfort. It is about being submitted to God and getting to heaven. Eternity is on His mind and where we will spend eternity. He is not as concerned about our comfort as He is about our character and where we will spend eternity.

Hebrews 12:5-9 and you have forgotten the divine word of encouragement which is addressed to you as sons, “MY SON, DO NOT MAKE LIGHT OF THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD, AND DO NOT LOSE HEART and GIVE UP WHEN YOU ARE CORRECTED BY HIM; FOR THE LORD DISCIPLINES and CORRECTS THOSE WHOM HE LOVES, AND HE PUNISHES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES and WELCOMES [TO HIS HEART].” You must submit to [correction for the purpose of] discipline; God is dealing with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? Now if you are exempt from correction and without discipline, in which all [of God’s children] share, then you are illegitimate children and not sons [at all]. Moreover, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us, and we submitted and respected them [for training us]; shall we not much more willingly submit to the Father of spirits, and live [by learning from His discipline]?

There are times He will test us to measure our level of faith. One example is found in Genesis where God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. Isaac was the answer to Abraham’s prayer, and God was testing Abrahams faith with the thing that Abraham cherished most.

Genesis 22:1 Now after these things, God tested [the faith and commitment of] Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he answered, “Here I am.”

There are times we blame God for not walking in His blessings, but what we need to do is pause and look at our level of obedience. I am not saying this is always the case. There are many different possible root causes of issues such as demonic torment, the flesh, results of living in a fallen world, a result of our actions, or a combination of several issues. When we face situations we must ask Him for the root cause so we know how to proceed, but in that process we should always measure our level of obedience and submission. No matter what we are facing obedience and submission are always key factors.

Disobedience can remove Gods favor from our lives. He may not remove the calling, but He does remove His favor at times and calling without favor is nothing.

The Lord started speaking to me about obedience and sharing this message a few years ago. Part of what He spoke to my heart was-Obedience is a learned discipline. We are not born with it. We must learn to walk in obedience, and it is something we must choose. It flows from a personal relationship with Him, and it can only be cultivated through a relationship with Him.

So, I sat with that for a while and started thinking it is like when a newborn baby is born. That baby must be taught to obey the rules and its parents. If it has trustworthy parents, the baby can fully rely on them to put the boundaries up in it’s life that will protect, nurture, and help it grow. It can learn to fully trust its parents and through that relationship learn to walk in obedience to them. But it is still a conscious choice that must be made. It is the same with our Father. He has already proven that He is a good Father, and we must choose to walk in obedience to Him.

Our level of obedience comes directly from us. He does not make us obey Him because He gave us free will. We cultivate our obedience to the level that we want it to be. There is a direct correlation between trust and obedience. If we don’t trust that He is a good Father, we will never fully submit and obey Him. That is why we must cultivate a personal relationship with Him so that we can know He is a good Father. Our flesh, demons, and difficult situations will say the opposite. They will lie and say He does not love us, He does not care, and He is not a good Father, but we can find the truth about His character in His Word. We can also take time to reflect on and remember our testimony. Our testimonies show His faithfulness.

We can read all about Him in the Bible, and hear others teach about Him, and have the head knowledge, but never let it reach our heart. We must also have a personal relationship with Him to really know Him for ourselves. We could do a book report on Him and give all kinds of facts about Him, but if we don’t really know Him for ourselves and have a personal relationship with Him, we will never walk in full obedience to Him.

We really cannot fully know God and His character without reading the Bible. It is impossible. If we rely on the teaching of others, we are only getting their interpretation of who He is. If we do not read the entire Bible, we are only catching part of who He is. The Bible is the full picture of God and His character and our relationship with Him. It is a two part process-reading His Word AND cultivating a personal relationship with Him through prayer and obedience.

I asked God what walking in obedience means to Him and what He wants it to look like for us and this is what He spoke to my heart.

Obedience is:

-Daily laying our lives down to Him. Laying our lives down means we include Him in every aspect of our lives, holding nothing back at all.

-Releasing everything that is not from Him, holding nothing back.

-Not stepping in front of Him, but relying fulling on His plan, purpose, and timing.

-Learning to rest in His presence and being content in His plans.

-Not relying on our own understanding or looking at situations through our lens of understanding, but instead living a life of faith that says no matter what it looks like, no matter what it cost, we will trust Him and refuse to give in to fear or discouragement.

-Our lives are His and when He asks something of us, we say yes. We live by blind faith and that kind of faith says we will follow Him no matter where He leads. We do not need to see the next step in order to follow. We simply move when He says to move.

Joshua 3:14 (Find the full story in Joshua 3-4)

14 So when the people set out from their tents to cross over the Jordan with the priests who were carrying the ark of the covenant before the people, 15 and when those who were carrying the ark came up to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests carrying the ark were submerged at the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all of its banks throughout the time of harvest), 16 the waters which were flowing down from above stopped and rose up in one mass a great distance away at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan. Those [waters] flowing downward toward the sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. So the people crossed [the river] opposite Jericho.

In the above scriptures the priests were told to step their feet into the water and then the water would be pushed back. I think many times we want to wait to see the water being removed before we take that first step, and at the same time God is waiting for us to step out by faith.

Practical Tips for Walking in Obedience

Relationship with Him: The number one way to walk in obedience is our relationship with God. Learning to trust, love, and obey Him flows from a personal relationship with Him.

Choose Obedience: It isn’t a gift or something God gives us. We must choose it and then decisively, every single day, walk in it. Sometimes it is a moment-by-moment decision.

Discipline: It is not easy to walk in obedience. Don’t expect it to be easy. Your flesh and demons will fight you every step of the way.

Bible Reading: Find a Bible reading plan that works for your schedule and find what time works best for you to read each day. Schedule the time and if needed put an alarm on your phone to remind you to get in the habit of daily reading. Make yourself do your reading. It will not always be fun or easy. That is why we must use discipline to develop the habit of daily reading. Before you start your reading pray for insight, conviction, training, and to know Him more through His Word.

Crucify the Flesh: Do not walk in the Flesh. Crucifying the flesh means putting it to death. It is not easy, not pleasant, and it is painful at times. Daily dying to self takes discipline and it does not happen by accident.

Luke 9:23 And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to follow Me [as My disciple], he must deny himself [set aside selfish interests], and take up his cross daily [expressing a willingness to endure whatever may come] and follow Me [believing in Me, conforming to My example in living and, if need be, suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in Me].

Lies: Refuse to believe any lies of the enemy (demons) or your circumstances. When the lies come, verbally command them to stop, and go, in the name of Jesus and replace them with the truth found in God’s Word.

Speak Life: Make sure you are speaking life over yourself, your family, circumstances, etc. Avoid speaking critical, hateful, or negative words.

Walk in the Fruit of the Spirit: Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit [the result of His presence within us] is love [unselfish concern for others], joy, [inner] peace, patience [not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting], kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law.

This includes the way we speak and the way we treat others. Walking in the fruit of the Spirit is a choice, not a gift. It is not just given to us; we must choose to walk in each of them. The more we walk in the Spirit by crucifying our flesh and being obedient to God and His Word the more we will walk in the fruit of the Spirit. We can pray for Him to help us, but ultimately the choice is ours regarding which we are going to walk in.

Ask for His Direction: We must ask for His direction in all our decisions, both big and small ones. For example, who we date, where we work, where we live, direction for our lives, relationships, who to have in our lives, what church to attend, training courses to take, etc. We should give Him all our hopes, dreams, and future.

Trust Him: It is not a feeling. It is a choice. We must decide to stand on His Word and who His Word says He is.

Just Do It: Even when we do not want to walk in obedience, we just have to decide no matter what we are going to.

Praise: Sometimes we just need to pause and bring Him a sacrifice of praise.

Hebrews 13:15 Through Him, therefore, let us at all times offer up to God a sacrifice of praise, which is the fruit of lips that thankfully acknowledge and confess and glorify His name.

Emotions: We must not be led by our emotions or the circumstances we are going through. Our emotions lie and change and that is why we cannot allow them to make decisions. Not that we do not have emotions because we are human so we feel a lot of things, but we cannot let them make our decisions. Instead we must be led by God’s truth.

Discernment: Prayer and ask God for more discernment. We can never have enough!

Relationships: Surround yourself with strong Christians. The Word tells us that iron sharpens iron. If none of your close friends are Christians that is an issue.

Proverbs 27:17 As iron sharpens iron, So one man sharpens [and influences] another [through discussion].

2 Corinthians 6:14 Do not be unequally bound together with unbelievers [do not make mismatched alliances with them, inconsistent with your faith]. For what partnership can righteousness have with lawlessness? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?

Our inner circle/support system should be people who bring us closer to the Lord and we should do the same for them. If you seek advice from the ungodly you will get ungodly advice.

We often think we will lead them to the Lord, but more times than not they lead us away from God.

Forgiveness: Forgive those who have hurt you because God says to. Refuse to carry the unforgiveness, bitterness, or anger for one more moment.

Matthew 6:15 But if you do not forgive others [nurturing your hurt and anger with the result that it interferes with your relationship with God], then your Father will not forgive your trespasses.

Jesus: Follow the example of Jesus. He is our example and He walked in full obedience to God. Read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John to get to know Him better and learn about the example He left for us.

Self-Reflection (Do it often.): Take some time for self-reflection and ask yourself the following questions.

Who and what are you obeying?

What is your level of submission and obedience to God and His Word?

Is there anything God has asked you to do that you have refused?

Is there anything He has told you to lay down that you have refused to let go of?

What is in the way of your level of obedience?

Helpful Teaching Video Links

Walking in Obedience to the Lord: https://youtu.be/yFHTHCNC6X8?si=QmdtaDC9X8SuGxTD

Crucifying the Flesh: https://youtu.be/BBF624qoIwc?si=geM7-76QH4TfBOwl

Blessings,

Nichole Henson

Fullness of Joy Ministry

Fullnessofjoyministry@gmail.com