There are certain words in the Bible that make us cringe. They make our hearts pound, and our palms sweat. They even expose the lies that we have believed as truth for many years unknowingly. One word, in particular, is the word "obey." The word obey means to comply with the command, direction or request of a person. You are basically submitted to God's perfect authority.

Now let's be honest, when you submit to God's authority it means forsaking your own. Our own authority gives us our hearts desires while God's authority grants the desires of our heart. There is a difference between our hearts' desires. For our own hearts, it is revealed in Jeremiah 17:9 that our hearts are deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Our hearts reveal our true nature, and only God is a discerner of them. Now the only way that God grants us the desires of our hearts is when they are aligned with his will. Meaning we have forsaken our own flesh and taken on God's Spirit. When the light of Christ enters our hearts, there is no room for darkness, because Christ came to bring a sword.

Another part of obedience is courage. The truth is a lot of us, including myself, struggle with fear. But there is something beautiful about this struggle; once we are overcome with love, fear has no place. This is the sword. It divides the lies from the truth. So that when there are lies, His word is able to replace it with His truth. In 1 John 4:18 it states, "there is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because of fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love." When we begin to see how much Christ sacrificed and bled for us, that fear becomes ruined in perfect love. This is where courage comes in. Courage comes from complete confidence in God. Which is a result of us obeying God.

Lastly, obedience brings freedom. Obedience to God brings freedom to self and others. When we obey God, again and again, it becomes a habit. Over time habits become lifestyles. We become sons and daughters that live by this statement in Philippians 4:13, " I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." We no longer believe the lies, and we no longer have fear. We become free to obey.

Obedience is not hard when Christ becomes our priority. When His words and His love becomes the main focus, everything else fades into the background. Obedience holds the keys to a freedom that we have never known. When we obey, freedom chases us down. So today, sons and daughters run with courage with the acknowledgment of our God. Let obedience bring you freedom and fly.