When God Instructs, Obey Immediately
By Rick Warren
“I will quickly obey your commands” (Psalm 119:32 NCV).
The Bible says a lot about obedience. God wants you to obey him so he can bless you. His instructions are for your good.
But he also tells you how he wants you to obey. One of the most important things you learn about obedience in the Bible is that you must obey God immediately.
Psalm 119:32 says, “I will quickly obey your commands” (NCV).
Later on, that psalm gives the same message in a different way: “Without delay I hurry to obey your commands” (Psalm 119:60 GNT).
When God tells you to do something, don’t procrastinate. Don’t make excuses. Don’t drag your feet. Just do it. Do it now.
“But what if I don’t understand why God is asking me to do a particular thing?” you might ask.
You don’t have to understand something to benefit from it. I don’t understand how heavy planes fly in the air, but I travel in them. I don’t understand how computers work, but I sure like email.
You don’t have to understand God’s commands to obey them and benefit from them.
Children often ask why they have to obey. And parents often say, “Because I said so.”
What parents mean is this: “Today you’re not old enough to understand, but trust me—I know better. And I need you to do this for your own good.”
Like a child, sometimes you’re tempted to ask God, “Why do I need to do that?”
And like a loving parent, he might want to say, “Because I said so. I know more than you. One day you’ll understand, but today you don’t. And I need you to do it anyway, for your own good.”
What if you can’t obey God with a good attitude? Should you still obey? Absolutely. That’s far better than disobedience. Mature people do the right thing in spite of their feelings.
Here’s a principle: In the Bible, anytime God gives a stated command without a specific date, he wants you to do it now.
When our children were growing up, my wife Kay might tell us: “Come to the dinner table at 6 p.m.” In that case, she meant we should come to dinner at 6 p.m. But other times she just said, “Come to the dinner table.” That meant we should come immediately.
It’s the same thing with God. If he tells you to do something without a specific timeframe, he means you should do it now.
When we delay obedience, we’re questioning God. We’re asking, “God, do you really know what’s best?”
Consider this question: What if God responded to your needs at the same speed in which you obey him? When you get in trouble, you want God’s help immediately. When God tells you to do something, he wants you to obey immediately.
Delayed obedience is disobedience. If you want the blessings of God, quickly follow his instructions.
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