Obedience: His Ways Over Our Ways

Obedience: His Ways Over Our Ways

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Opening Scripture: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”–James 1:2–4

Friends, God doesn’t take us to a classroom with neat subjects saying—“today we will learn humility; tomorrow, obedience; next week, faith.” His teaching is not compartmentalized. Discipleship happens in the messy, real moments of life.

The wilderness showed Israel this. The same trial that tested their faith also tested their obedience. The same hunger that humbled them also taught them dependence.

Life is God’s classroom. And the lessons overlap. When we go through trials, we’re not learning only patience—we’re learning many lessons at once.

In one season of tribulation, we are learning trust. Humility. Surrender. Gratitude. Hope. James tells us that God is weaving all these strands together to make us “mature and complete” in our character—most of all humility, since that is the attribute we are focusing on today.

This is why trials in our life are never random. Every difficulty allowed by God carries multiple objectives. It humbles us. It strengthens our faith. It builds our endurance. It forms our character. It deepens our trust. It anchors our hope.

All of it works together to move us toward one goal: becoming more like Christ.

So instead of asking, “What lesson is God teaching me right now?” we can ask, “How is God shaping me through this moment in many ways at once?”

We don’t need to chase lessons one by one. We only need to stay surrendered in the moment—confident that God’s Spirit is shaping all things for our maturity in Christ.

Discipleship is not a set of crash courses. It is life itself. In every trial and every triumph, God is teaching many lessons at once, all working together to make us complete in Christ.

The lesson on humility is integrated into our day-to-day life. Do we have a spiritual barometer that measures whether we are truly walking humbly with God?

The posture of a humble heart can be seen in seven ways: faith, obedience, worship, prayer, gentleness, confession and repentance, teachability. We will spend some time exploring each of these in our next devotion.

Discipleship happens in the messy, real moments of life.
— Author

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Prayer:

Lord, help me to embrace the cracks in my life as places where Your light can shine through. Let me not chase success that fades, but pursue the purpose that endures.

Make me a vessel of Your grace, humble and whole in You.

Amen.