The Reward of Obedience

At New Day we often talk about wanting ‘more’ of God. What we mean is that we desire to know God better, to have more intimacy and passion for God. We want to taste and see his presence in our lives. And having more of God in our lives is an increase in the attributes of the Kingdom in our lives:  more love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self control.

Pursuing more of God is a movement that we make towards God. God is always good, and he is ready and willing to pour out another wave of his love into us. He is always ready to give us more of himself. But, how do we make this move? How do we open ourselves up to the more that the Father desires to give us?

We move towards more through obedience: obedience to the voice of God. In Genesis 22, Abraham is tested by God. Having previously given Abraham some incredible promises (see Gen. 15), God says, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love…and sacrifice him as a burnt offering” (22:2).

Abraham has a choice to make. Will he hold on to the thing he loves more than anything on the planet, or will he hold fast to God? Abraham chooses to trust God and is willing to do what was asked of him. At that moment an angel stops him and provides a replacement sacrifice, and the Lord says, “Because you have done this, I will surely bless you.”

I believe that Abraham could have said no and he would have still been loved by God and blessed to a certain level, but God was inviting him into the fullness of his destiny. He was inviting him into more.

You have a promise and a destiny as well. There is more available for you. You can stay where you are and receive the benefits of God in your current location. Or you can go deeper through obedience and step into the fullness of what is God inviting you into. What is the Father inviting you into? What is he asking you to sacrifice? What can you surrender so that you can receive more of him?