“Moses returned to the Lord and said, ‘Why, Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people? Is this why you sent me? Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble on this people, and you have not rescued your people at all.” (New International Version, 2011, Exodus 5:22-23)
Many of us hold erroneous ideas about obedience and how God is “supposed” to respond to us in light of it. We often think we are doing God a favor when we do the things He’s instructed us to do, then try to determine both the reward and the timeline for its manifestation. But what do we do when the reward for obedience takes longer than we expected? How does our attitude or faith shift when the fruit of our obedience doesn’t look like what we had in mind?
To be obedient is to be “submissive to the restraint or command of authority: willing to obey.[1]” First, we see an authority involved that can influence or attract actions. Next, the receiver of the restraint or command must choose a response that is either contrary to the instruction or in line with it. In essence, obedience is a matter of our will. According to Scripture, “To obey is better than sacrifice” (1 Samuel 15:22, NIV). Sacrifice in the Bible refers to the practice of offering burnt animals as a means of atoning for one’s sins. Yet, while God instituted this practice, He wasn’t satisfied with it. Why is that? Well, because sacrifices were never intended to be a permanent solution for sin, and they had become ritualistic- something that the people would mindlessly engage in- and the people had lost their awe and reverence for God. More than just checking off a box, God wanted His people to obey His voice because obedience involves the heart, or as mentioned earlier, our will. We don’t obey those whom we don’t respect. So, we must then examine two critical questions: Is God an authority in my life or, is He THE authority in my life? And am I using the free will He’s given me to obey Him? God’s voice is the authority on all things, despite what we may see in the natural, feel, or determine by reasoning. Our obedience is intended to instill in us a reliance on God that supersedes our dependence on ourselves or any earthly resource, and how quickly we respond to God reflects not only our surrender but our trust in Him.
After God called Moses to be the deliverer of His people, we see an exchange between Moses and God in which Moses outlines all the reasons he couldn’t do what God required of him. Moses, like many of us, didn’t feel qualified or up to the task, so he wasn’t exactly jumping at the thought of obeying this command. Nevertheless, Moses declared the Lord’s demand to Pharaoh that he let God’s people go. However, instead of letting the people go, Pharaoh intensified the oppression, and thus the demands upon Pharaoh continued for several days. But Moses obeyed God’s voice, so why didn’t Pharaoh’s compliance come after the first demand? Well, for one, God had already said He would harden Pharaoh’s heart. Yet, it was always God’s plan to deliver His people, but He wanted to take time to not only shame Pharaoh and his gods but to display His raw power to the Israelites. So, despite the challenges that ensued, Moses and the Israelites were to be confident of the outcome because God, the authority on the matter, had said He would bring His people out of Egypt. Sometimes the instructions we receive aren’t just about us. There are times when God may want to communicate something to others about His character through the instructions we receive. God’s wisdom is manifold, so what looks like a simple step may be a multifaceted process that accounts for more than we could ever imagine. We are to continue in obedience even when it doesn’t make sense. We are to choose obedience even when the reward seems delayed. The confrontation or resistance that comes from our obedience should not deter us, make us question what God has said, or doubt the calling on our lives. We must understand that just as God has a plan for each of us, the enemy also has a plan. The devil’s sole purpose is to push us out of obedience because it is in rebellion that we lose out on what God has for us.
Years ago, the Lord instructed me to further my education. At this time, I already had a career, and so I thought, “What more is there for me to do?” Nevertheless, I left my home and moved to a new state to embark on this new journey. Naturally, I was excited about this phase of life and thought everything would be smooth sailing. Why? Because I knew that I had obeyed the voice of God. I believed that as long as I was in God’s will, everything would go my way. However, things did not in fact go my way. I was unemployed for six months, and all the while, the bills and responsibilities remained. I was filled with anxiety, shame, and regret about uprooting my once settled life. I began to reflect on those voices that said I didn’t need to further my education and that I would only be delaying my career. Like Moses, I questioned God. However, as time went on, I began to recount all my blessings and what God had done for me up to that point. It was when I adopted an attitude of gratitude that I experienced a shift in my perspective. I recognized that while I was trusting for the reward of full-time employment, God had already been rewarding me by providing for me every step of the way. I never missed a payment throughout that time, and I would receive funds before I could even ask for them. The rewards had been there all along! Now, years into the process, I’ve seen the blessings in obedience. I didn’t reap the rewards in the way I expected or even immediately, but my heart toward God has changed, and my life has blossomed. I’ve been provided with greater clarity, community, and instructions for the next season. So, I share this to say that we can be assured that God takes note of our obedience. But even more, we should never have to worry about the rewards because He is our reward.
Today, I want to encourage you to keep on obeying. Obedience may not always be convenient or logical, but there is great benefit in it. Sometimes the reward is not an external blessing or an immediate change in circumstances, but a deeper knowledge of and intimacy with the One who holds our lives in His hands. We can rest in the assurance that, more than any earthly or temporal reward, we have already received the greatest reward of all- the privilege of knowing God and walking in His will.
[1] Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Obedient. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved June 21, 2026, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/obedient