The Blessings of Obedience

I had a tough day with one of my daughters yesterday, and it ended with a revoked privilege of a fun night with Dad at the pool. The day had felt like a never-ending battle of bad attitudes, disobedience, mean gestures, and too many apologies to remember, and I was not immune. I was indeed forcing kind and calm words out between gritted teeth well before dinner time. By the end of the day, there was no way on this green planet that Dad was going to swoop in with a mountain of fun while Mom had been trenching it out with the realities of sinful hearts that were going astray most of the day. There was the promise of the pool the following day if we could get ourselves back on track. Everyone went to bed that night anticipating a brighter day tomorrow.

I woke the following morning thinking of my daughter’s waking, readying my heart to embrace her in a morning hug full of delight and welcoming kindness that would ensure tomorrow had been left behind and today we start fresh again. But as I sat there, I wrestled with the idea of the blessings of obedience. I would never want to guide my daughter’s heart in a direction that would have her believe that we obey simply to enter into some physical blessing that enriches our life with comforts. We often say in our home, “It is blessed to obey!” And that is true, but what does it mean? If I’m honest we had been wrestling with that idea as adults in our own home: upset expectations, financial difficulties, unplanned sickness, etc. It’s so easy to start questioning, “Lord where is the blessing?” I said a little prayer before I got out of bed that morning asking for the Lord’s help to communicate his truths in meaningful ways to these young hearts. I allowed him to shoulder some of the burden I realized I had been carrying on my own, and then I stepped out of bed to start the day. 

I must say, the day rolled around pretty smoothly. The pool was definitely a strong external motivator. However, without fail, midafternoon tempers became embroiled, screaming erupted, and before I knew it, I was sitting next to a little one’s bed talking about self-control when we feel angry. My child’s sin in their anger and disobedience to God’s way had disrupted our home, hurt relationships, destroyed peace, and brought grief to their own heart. We had been having such a blessed and peaceful day. It dawned on me when I was sitting there suddenly: here was the example I had been looking for. The contrast was clear. The day before had been wracked with turmoil, and yet today had been so peaceful. Our physical circumstances hadn’t changed, but our hearts had been bent in obedience. Today had been better. Today had been BLESSED. 

We are guaranteed little in this world as followers of Christ. We are not suddenly immune from the suffering, pain, and fallen realities of our planet because we obeyed, but we do have the continual blessing of being at peace in Christ as we walk in obedience. There may not be financial gain; there may not be strong health; there may not be healing; there may not be promotions; but through it all we can be blessed with peace. Peace in our hearts, peace in our relationships, peace in our homes. I’d rather go to sleep at night knowing my heart, my relationships, and my home are at peace than be wreaked by turmoil while having all the “good” life could offer. As my grandpa is fond of saying, “It’s all going to burn!” One day anyway. Have we sowed obedience with the heart of receiving the eternal blessings of its fruits or do we stand embittered because we sowed obedience expecting to receive earthly rewards that were never promised and will burn anyway?

And with that realization sinking deeper into my heart, I found myself offering a hug and whispering into a small ear.  “It's blessed to obey because it brings peace in our hearts, peace in our relationships, peace in our homes.” Amen.