I am going to send an angel before you to protect you on the way and bring you to the place I have prepared. Be attentive to him and listen to his voice. Do not defy him, because he will not forgive your acts of rebellion, for My name is in him. But if you will carefully obey him and do everything I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your foes. Exodus 23:20-22 HCSB

I wish I had a dollar for every time my parents said to me, “this is for your own good”.  I was not a sneaky, rebellious child by nature. I can recall only one time in my life that I did that. But, I would question my parent’s rules and make futile attempts at arguing my case before them when I considered a rule to be unfair or unreasonable. Their go to response was, “this is for your own good.” Once they said that, I knew that the discussion was over and further argument would only make things worse for me.  Now, I have told you before that I am a slow learner and like most teenagers, I thought I knew it all, but it took me a while to realize that my parents were actually intelligent. It took me many years to realize that every rule they had and all the things they made me do were really for my own good. These things they made me do as a child were of great benefit to me as an adult.

So, I want to ask you a question today. Have you come to realize that your heavenly father wants what is best for you? In Jeremiah 29:11 we are told that He has good plans for us, plans for our welfare and not for our harm. Now because I am a slow learner, it took me a while to realize that my earthly parents wanted what was best for me and that if I did as they told me to do, things would work out much better. It took me quite a bit longer to realize that the same holds true for my heavenly Father. In our scripture passage today, we are told that if we obey God that He will be an enemy to our enemies. He will fight for us. Romans 8:31 tells us that if God is for us, who can be against us. So the tradeoff for our obedience is that God fights our battles for us. How can this not work out for our good, right?

The bible does not promise that as Christians we will never suffer, no quite the contrary. However, it assures us that if we keep God’s commandments that we will never see death (John 8:51). We are told in Luke 11:28 that those who hear God’s word and keep it are blessed. In Isaiah 1:19 the Israelites are told that if they are willing and obedient, they shall eat the good of the land.

For many years, I lived my Christian life on a roller coaster, praising God when times were good and rebelling against God when times were bad. I’m not even sure that I realized at the time what I was doing. But looking back I can clearly see a pattern. I behaved well when I felt as though I was being rewarded and my circumstances were good, but when my circumstances were not good, neither was I.

I finally realized that I could not keep living this way. I had to give it all over to God and trust in Him. Along with trusting in Him, I had to be obedient. I had to do those things that He called me to do even when I didn’t want to or think that I could. I have learned that whatever He calls me to do, He will equip me to do. I have even learned that I will enjoy it.

The 28th chapter of Deuteronomy is broken into two sections, the first gives the blessing for obedience and the second gives the curses for disobedience. God is not going to take our disobedience lightly, there will be consequences for our actions.

To put it in simple terms, which for me is always dieting and exercise. Let’s just say that I decided to lay on the sofa and eat sugary treats all day. This is not going to be good for me, right? But if I eat a more balanced diet and throw some exercise in there I will do much better. I may not enjoy exercising, but it is for my own good. And no matter how tasty sugar filled treats are, they are not good for me.

God calls us to obedience for our own good. We were created to be in fellowship with Him, when we fail to do so, we suffer the consequences.

Now, you may be reading this and realizing that you are disobedient and not keeping God’s commandments and thinking that life is going well for you. Know that this is not going to last. Trials and tribulations are certainly headed your way. If you want these to work out well for you, be obedient. Show your love for God. In John 14:15, Jesus says, “If you love me, you will keep my commands.” Romans 8:28 tells us that all things work for the good of those that love the Lord and are called according to His purpose. So, if you love God and you obey His call, even the bad things work out for your good.

I didn’t obey my parents because I wanted to, I obeyed them because I loved them and trusted them and wanted their approval. Through continued obedience, I came to realize that they were being truthful, it was for my own good. They only wanted what was best for me. God wants you to have what is best for you, won’t you obey Him and trust in Him today? I promise, it’s for your own good.

Have a great day!