By Grace

Read: Leviticus 25:47-27:13, Mark 10:32-52, Psalm 45:1-17, Proverbs 10:22

If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands…
“I will give you peace in the land, and you will be able to sleep with no cause for fear.”
Leviticus 26:3,6

Relate:
When I was younger, my mom would tell me, almost every day, to go to our village swimming pool and swim at least 1000 meters. Often, I would grumble and complain, saying I was too tired to swim, or that she was unfair for making my sister and I swim so much. I believed that her expectations were so unreasonably high, and even though I knew in my head that it was for my own good, I did not internalize it in my heart. Fast-forwarding to now, I am so grateful to my mom for pushing me to swim. Without her, I would never have been good enough to join the varsity swim team at my school, or win medals, or experience the camaraderie, joy, accomplishments, and sense of fulfillment that come with being in a sports team.

Often, I feel like this is also the case when it comes to obeying God’s commands. We know that obeying God ultimately is what is best for us, but this head knowledge is often not ingrained in our hearts enough to make us obey Him. We grumble, thinking that God’s commands are too demanding and unreasonable. But Leviticus 26:3&6 says, “If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands… I will give you peace in the land, and you will be able to sleep with no cause for fear.” According to this passage, obeying God is not only the right thing to do, but it also brings us blessing and protection. Similar to how obeying my mom really blessed me and benefitted me in the long run.

React:
We cannot just expect God to bless us if we do not spend time reading His word and obeying Him. Knowing that true peace and blessing only come when we obey God, we must ask the Holy Spirit to help us, since we cannot do it on our own strength. Without His help, we are increasingly prone to grumble, whine, and think of God’s commands as insurmountable chores, instead of opportunities to see Him work in our lives. We need the Holy Spirit to internalize Leviticus 26 and transform it from mere head knowledge to a foundational principle that we intentionally live by.

Respond:

Dear God,
Thank You for reminding me of the importance of obeying You in my life. I realized that there have been times when I expected You to answer my prayer or to bless me, even when I was not being obedient or intentional in my walk with You. Please help me to remember that obedience brings blessing. Thank You that You are sovereign, and I can rest assured that obeying Your commands is the wisest thing to do because You know and You want what is best for me. In Jesus’ Name, I pray,
Amen.