Jeremiah 42:6
Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will obey the voice of the LORD our God, to whom we send thee; that it may be well with us, when we obey the voice of the LORD our God.
The remnant of Israel went to Jeremiah to ask him to pray and ask the LORD what they were to do. The armies of Babylon were coming against them, and there was an element of people who thought they would be safe by going to Egypt to be protected there. When they asked Jeremiah what they should do, they said that whether it be good, or whether it be evil, they would obey the LORD. They were saying they wanted God’s favor even if it meant that harm came to them. Of course, this remnant did not listen to Jeremiah to their detriment, and many of them lost their lives because they would not obey.
The test of your obedience is determined by what the stopping point is to obeying the LORD. Obedience is not doing what you want to do, but it is doing what you are told to do when you don't want to do it. Obedience is not doing what you are told to do when it benefits you, but it is doing what you are told to do even when it results in your hurt.
Sadly, we have many today who put their finger to the wind to see which way the winds are blowing to determine whether or not to obey God. If standing for truth benefits them, they will stand for truth and act like they are heroes. However, if standing for truth results in hurt or loneliness, many have abandoned the truth for the sake of being accepted by the crowds. You show me the point that you stop obeying God, and I will show you the degree to which you truly obey God. If you are not willing to obey God even when it hurts you, then you are not truly willing to obey God.
Let us look at some of the heroes in the Scriptures who obeyed, but it did not benefit them. It did not initially benefit the three Hebrew children to obey God by not bowing to Nebuchadnezzar’s image; however, it brought God’s favor to their lives, and eventually, their obedience benefited them. It did not benefit Joseph to obey God by being immoral with his boss’s wife, but his obedience brought God’s favor to his life and God’s blessings many years later. These are just two illustrations of people that obeying God did not benefit them, but their obedience brought God’s favor and blessings in the end.
At what point do you stop obeying God? Are you willing to tithe as long as you have the money to tithe? Are you willing to do God’s will as long as His will benefits your whims? Are you willing to meet your spouse’s need as long as you want to meet their needs? Are you willing to love your spouse even when they have been hateful and never meet your needs? Are you willing to go soul winning even when it seems nobody is getting saved? Are you willing to be faithful to church as long as it doesn't inconvenience you? This is not true obedience in each of these illustrations. True obedience will do these things whether good or evil is the result.
My friend, your love for God is revealed by if you will obey Him even if obeying means it hurts you. The benefit of true obedience is having God’s favor on your life. If having God’s favor means I must be hurt to do right, then being hurt is worthy of obeying God. You will find God’s favor and blessing if you put no stopping points to your obedience.
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