Obedience. What a powerful word. The ramifications of not obeying can be devastating. Do you remember when you were a little kid and you disobeyed your parents and got a spanking for it. That's a devastating thing for a little kid. It was for me at least. Especially when my Dad had to spank me. When I disobeyed and my Dad would spank me I knew I had failed my hero and greatest role-model; I had failed the one that I wanted to be when I grew up. It was the absolute worst thing I could have done for him and myself. Eventually I grew up and learned not to disobey him. The worst thing I do these days is forget to record my oil changes and run off with his tools, which reminds me; Dad, if you're reading this I put your 4 screwdrivers back in the toolbox.

So what about when you did obey as a kid? Do you remember getting the pat on the back, in whatever form it may have come? For me, I'm a verbal person and an auditory learner, which means I like to hear it. If it's bad, ugly, good, or great I have to hear it to learn it best. Just my Dad's voice telling me "You've done good, goober." was all I needed to hear to get that I was on the right track. When you're on the right track you get those signs along the way that let you know to keep going the way you're going.

It works the same way in life with God. I have two stories about obeying God and and I'll make them short and sweet. First, I had just been, for lack of a better word, betrayed by two of the closest people to me. Over the next 3 months God began to whisper to me about forgiving them. Not just forgiving them in my own mind and heart but confronting them and forgiving them face-to-face. I obeyed God's voice and one of those people has come to know Christ as Lord and Savior partially because of my and my family's influence. The second story goes like this: I have always had two dreams. One is to be a youth pastor and missionary. The other was to be a Green Beret in the U.S. Army's Special Forces. The second dream was one that I came up with myself, and after years and years of running from God's plan of ministry, and chasing after being a soldier, I got some bad news. Because of health issues the Army would not accept me. So I finally gave up and obeyed God. Because I finally obeyed Him my life has not been the same since. I have never been so peaceful and sure of the path before me, and though I can't see it all, I know I'm on the right track.

You see, when I get to the end of my life I don't want to get a swat on the back and be shown what I could have done if i had just obeyed the voice of God. I don't want to ever think that I could have done better in a situation or that I could have influenced more people toward Christ if I had just listened. I want to get to the end of my life and hear "Well done my good and faithful servant." Or, as my Dad puts it, "You've done good, Goober."

Trust me, having faith and obeying God is the way to go. God is persistent when he speaks. You can't mistake his voice. When you think you hear Him speaking pray about it and meditate on it and talk to older, smarter people about it and read the Bible. After you've given it time and done all these things; when you're certain it's God's voice, take the step. When you do, it benefits you as much as it benefits the kingdom of God. Even in the storms you'll have a peace that even you won't understand. Walk the path. Obey.