Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all
you upright in heart. Psalm 32: 11.
Obey – and you’ll be joyful. There are many verbs in the Bible in the
imperative mood. Jesus is our Lord: he has the right to command. But
he is also our Lover, and we should want to obey (John 14:21). David,
who was tempted to think he was accountable only to himself, fell
badly. He should have learned from his predecessor Saul’s experience
with the Amalekites (see 1 Samuel 15:22). ‘To obey is better than
sacrifice’ is a recurring theme throughout the prophets and in the
teaching of Jesus. As in any love relationship, the lover wants the
beloved, not merely tokens or ‘sacrifices’.
The key question for the Christian isn’t ‘What’s going to happen to
me?’ but ‘What does my Lord want me to do?’ It isn’t ‘Why is this
happening to me?’ but ‘What is his will for me in this situation?’ If
we ask the right questions, we needn’t worry when we don’t understand
all the reasons for God’s actions.
Trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to
trust and obey! Amen.