The fourth and final component in the process of change is obedience. Obedience is the proof that we really love God and trust him. Since times of transition bring us into a place where we have never been before and reveals our own limitations and motives, obedience is essential if we are going to follow God’s will in our season of change.
Remember, Abraham obeyed and went to the place God was leading him, even though he did not know where he was going (Hebrews 11:8). Moses, though reluctant at first, obeyed God and became a great leader who God would use to deliver the Israelites out of Egypt.
In times of change, as apprehension or uncertainty begins to well up in our hearts, obedience to God’s commands is what should determine our decision making and direction. It is when we obey God that we discover the delight of doing his will. Psalm 119:34-35 says, “Give me understanding, and I will keep you law and obey it with all my heart. (35) Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight.”
Obedience brings us into a deeper, more intimate relationship with God. It takes us from the place of service to the place of friendship. In John 15:14-16 Jesus says, “You are my friends if you do what I command. (15) I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made know to you. (16) You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. (17) This is my command: Love each other.”
I have met many people who are servants of Christ and do good works for him. This is very nice and a crucial part of the Christian faith. Sometimes our good works are a disguise for the fact that we don’t really know God intimately. The good works become activity that keeps us busy, but not fruitful.
However, friendship with God is the key to bearing fruit—fruit that will last. Abraham, as a friend of God, combined his faith and actions and offered his son Isaac on the altar when God tested him during his season of change (James 2:21-22). It was in this moment that God provided another sacrifice, a ram caught by its horns in a thicket.
Abraham’s friendship with God that manifested in obedience was a key factor to his discovery that God is our provider. Abraham’s offspring, his son Isaac, would be the instrument that God would use to bless all nations, because of his obedience (Genesis 22:15-18).
Because of Moses’ obedience, we are told in Exodus that he had a special relationship with God. Exodus 33:11 says, “The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend.” Moses’ friendship with God allowed him to enter into unique conversations with God, and gave him tremendous favor with him.
In Exodus 33, God is ready to take Moses into the promised land, but he wants to destroy the Israelites because they were disobedient. God tells Moses that he would bring him to the land he promised, but his presence would not go with him. Moses appeals to God and asks him to change his mind by allowing his presence to go with them. The Lord says, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.” (Exodus 33:17)
It was his close relationship with God that sustained Moses in difficult times during his season of change.
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