Acts 5:29“But Peter and the apostles answered, ‘We must obey God rather than men.’”

In Acts 5:9, the apostles boldly declare their allegiance and obedience to God above the governing authorities. Obedience to God sometimes requires us to go against societal expectations or man-made rules if they contradict God’s commands.

Obedience is often overlooked. We desire victory, to follow God’s call, and to have dominion, yet we hesitate to follow God’s lead. We prefer our own terms. We have preconceived notions of how things should be, and when God calls us to act or move, we resist because it doesn’t align with our vision. It fails to meet our expectations. I admit to this fault. I have prayed for God to use me and to guide me where I’m needed, but when the moment arrived, it wasn’t as I imagined, so I chose a different path.

It’s interesting how we do our best to obey human authority and laws of the land, yet we’re quick to compromise when it comes to following the laws of God. We will twist, manipulate, and ignore Scripture to fit our agenda. We have to do better. We must understand that what God has set aside for us is far greater than anything we can imagine, it’s just usually not how we picture it. We have these dreams, visions, goals, and ideas of what our life should look like based on social media, life experiences, and things we’re naturally drawn to which hinder our journey with God. If you want to walk in the fullness of what God has called you to, you must lay down your dreams, surrender your goals, and obey the leading of the Holy Spirit regardless of where it takes you. You must have the understanding that God will take you to the promised land; the journey may be different than you imagined, but the result is worth it. It starts with obedience.

“Faith never knows where it is being led, but it loves and knows the One who is leading.” – Oswald Chambers