Your Disobedience to God Delays Your Destiny

[Est August 1, 2023]

"I will hurry, without delay, to obey your commands."
Psalms 119: 60 NLT

As followers of Christ, obedience is required to walk faithfully and in one accord with God. Since I was a little girl, I’ve learned about the 10 commandments and how it is vital to obey them. But truly, what is obedience? In Hebrew, the word obedience is shama (שָׁמַע) which is to hear, understand, and submit to. Biblically, it means putting the Word of God into practice to align with His will, demonstrating submission and surrender.

When we give our life to Christ, there is a sanctification process that starts within us through the Holy Spirit. The more we submit to His leading, the more we are renewed in our thoughts, words, and actions. However, at times, it will feel uncomfortable for our fleshly nature. So, what do we do in those moments? We disobey.

The Bible says, in Matthew 26:41, “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” The desires of the flesh can overpower the whispers of the spirit even if you willingly want to obey God. There are many reasons why this may happen:

• Fear of the Unknown

  • As humans, we desire control. Being able to predict certain things and situations brings us a sense of certainty. So, when we lack important information (who, what, when, where, and why), it makes us feel uneasy and uncomfortable, potentially stopping us in our tracks.

• Lack of Faith

  • Partial obedience is not acceptable to God, therefore, it is disobedience. Essentially, it soothes our flesh and conscience, but in reality, it shows a lack of faith and trust in the Lord. Walking with God requires you to step out of your comfort zone. There is no fixed checklist to be in control of. You can have faith and you can have control, but you cannot have both. I can testify about that since I love to plan and be organized and be in control of certain things and situations. You just can’t have both.

• Doubts that lead to excuses

  • Have you ever uttered phrases like “I’ll pray about it,” or “Lord, give me a sign,” or “I need time, I’m not ready”? In those situations, you doubt the greatness of God or you doubt if you’ve heard his instructions correctly. Making excuses is also a result of fear of the unknown (in some cases). It stops you from reaching your full potential, henceforth delaying your destiny by missing great opportunities.

• Fear of Men

  • The fear of men roots in the desire to be loved and approved. Caring about what people think brings lots of bondage and it limits your mindset and actions. Matthew 10:28 says “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” Once you seek God wholeheartedly, the opinion of men won’t matter to you because trusting in the Lord brings so much safety.

• Procrastination

  • The act of procrastinating is a lack of self-control and discipline. In our minds, we know the negative consequences attached to procrastination, yet we still delay and postpone. Procrastination is disobedience in slow motion. Read that again and stop putting off what God told you to do.

• Laziness

  • The Lord hates lazy people. Laziness should have no place in our character as Christians. Proverbs 10: 4 tells us “Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth.” In your heart, you know what God is calling you to do. You feel the Holy Spirit’s conviction, yet you deny it times and times again. How can we dream of success when we are neglecting our lives?

• Love of Sin

  • Think of sin as food. It tastes good, it looks good, it smells good. And more than anything, it makes us feel good. So it makes sense for our flesh to love it and delight in it. The Bible says, in Genesis 3:6, when Eve saw the fruit, it was pleasing to the eyes. Unfortunately what looks good is not always good for us. So, obey God even if it feels uncomfortable.

We should not live by feelings or emotions but rather stand strong on the Word of God. However, it is so easy to fall into these steps because our flesh is weak. To give you an example, God has placed in my heart to start the Inked by Christ ministry in December 2022 (about 8 months ago). I’ve prayed with my pastor about it and we felt peace. The blog posts were set to publish on New Year’s, unfortunately, it was postponed due to a high fever. Over time, doubts and procrastination crept in and I became very lazy in my gift of writing. I asked myself questions like “Will people read my blog?” or “Do I even know how to write well?” and so many more. To say the least, it was postponed at least three times. Until I said, enough is enough.

Disobedience causes delayed destiny. If Inked by Christ actually launched eight months ago, prayers could have been my current living testimony, victories could have been won in the spiritual realm and souls could have been restored through my blog. That’s something to really think about. Where would I be if I started long ago? When God says go, you go. This might ruffle some feathers but disobedience to God is rebellion against him, which is equated to witchcraft (See 1 Samuel 15:22-23). When he asks us to do something, it is to be done without question or delay. There is a reason for that matter, it aligns with his purpose and timing. There are people crying out in distress and waiting for your “YES” to God, waiting for your obedience to God.

When you disobey, your blessings are reduced and you will lose time and favor. As time goes on, you quench the Holy Spirit and your conviction will decrease. In doing so, you backslide, returning to your old habits and sinful behaviors. Unfortunately, you become prone to attacks because you are no longer under God’s protection. Obviously, His grace will always protect you, but you will open portals sent by the enemy.

God loves you so much. He will never place you in situations that will harm you because he has your best interest at heart. And, obeying Him is an act of worship and of love, so let’s renew our minds to submit to Him. Also, please do not get discouraged if you happen to disobey him. It will happen because we are humans, our flesh will disappoint us at some point. I read somewhere that “Jesus fulfilled the obedience we all owe to God.” So, just like he paid the price of our sins on the cross, he will fulfill the obedience that is owed. When you happen to disobey, repent and run back to Him because He loves you and is so patient and forgiving.

I do not know where you have been stubbornly shutting out God’s voice. Maybe it’s that job that he told you to quit, that business he told you to start, that relationship he told you to end, that move he told you to do, or anything that comes to mind when you read this letter. I encourage you to open your heart to Him, then you will experience the blessings of his faithfulness.

Let’s pray with the authority that he has graced us with:

Heavenly Father,

I come humbly before you today to ask for your forgiveness. I am sorry for disobeying you, and I am sorry for rebelling against you. I repent to you now knowing what I have done. Thank you for opening my eyes to the things that I was blind to. I recognize that my thoughts are not your thoughts, and neither are my ways your ways. I command all sinful passions and weaknesses operating in my life to be bound and cast out in the name of Jesus. I command all spirits of disobedience and rebellion that are hindering my present and future to come out in the name of Jesus. I receive miracles of deliverance for my life. Let me be filled with the knowledge of Your will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, that I might walk worthy of You unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. In Jesus’s name, I pray.

Amen

With love,

Carmaïssa