We often lay claim to Abraham’s blessings as ours, but are we as obedient as Abraham was to God? For instance, would we have been willing to sacrifice a promised and long sought after child in obedience to God?

The Christian life is a life of complete dependence on Christ for salvation; the word of God for growth; and the Holy Spirit for strength to run the race to the end. In the same vein, our obedience (and commitment) to God is fundamental to our spiritual and material blessings.

Obedience may be defined as hearing God’s word and acting on it accordingly. The Bible says, “But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.” [James 1: 22 – 25].

Obedience entails trusting God and His word, even when fulfillment of a promise appears difficult and humanly impossible: “And Abraham’s faith did not weaken, even though, at about 100 years of age, he figured his body was as good as dead – and so was Sarah’s womb. Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises” [Romans 4: 19 – 21].

Obedience can also be defined as faith. If you do not have faith or trust in someone, you cannot obey the person. As Christians, we ought to have a full understanding of the merciful character of God and recognize that every blessing in the Bible is a direct product of obedience. Below are reasons why obedience is key:

1. It is proof of genuine love for God: “If you love me, obey my commandments” [John 14: 15].
2. It is a demonstration of strong faith and unshakeable confidence in God: “It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. And even when he reached God’s promised land, he lived in tents like a mere visitor as did Isaac and Jacob, to whom God gave the same promise.¹⁰ Abraham did this because he was confidently waiting for God to bring him to that strong heavenly city whose designer and builder is God.  ” [Hebrews 11: 8 – 10].
3. It is a proof of respect and trust.
4. It is better than sacrifice: “But I did obey the Lord,” Saul insisted… But Samuel replied, “What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice and submission is better than offering the fat of rams. Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as bad as worshipping idols. And now because you have rejected the word of Jehovah, he has rejected you from being king” [1 Samuel 15: 20 – 23].
5. There is a great reward for obedience. We demonstrate acceptable obedience by obeying God in the right way:

“But Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, placed unholy fire in their censers, laid incense on the fire, and offered the incense before the Lord^[a]—contrary to what the Lord had just commanded them! So fire blazed forth from the presence of the Lord and destroyed them” [Leviticus 10: 1 – 2 TLB] and fully, “…Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty. God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad” [Ecclesiastes 12: 13 – 14].

Obedience in our Christian walk is very important and key to divine blessings.