BrendaHubbard

1. What is Disobedience? Define and look up what God says it is.

2. Why does Disobedience happen? 

3. How to navigate it? Discuss and give examples. 

4. In conclusion, What will God do? What to do? 

1. What is Disobedience?

The Blue Letter Bible defines it as a lack of regard for authority or rulership. Google describes it as deliberately not doing what someone in authority tells you to do or what a rule or law says you should do. 

“And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” 

So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” 

To the woman, he said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor, you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”

To Adam, he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return. Genesis‬ ‭3‬:‭11‬-‭19‬.

Here we have the story of where the first Disobedience in the Bible began. God gave Adam and Eve clear instructions, and they were blind sided by temptation and fell into Sin. 

Now listen! Today I am giving you a choice between life and death, between prosperity and disaster. For I command you this day to love the Lord your God and to keep his commands, decrees, and regulations by walking in his ways. If you do this, you will live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you and the land you are about to enter and occupy. “But if your heart turns away and you refuse to listen, and if you are drawn away to serve and worship other gods, then I warn you now that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live a long, good life in the land you are crossing the Jordan to occupy. Deuteronomy‬ ‭30‬:‭15‬-‭18‬. 

From the beginning, God has given countless instructions in the Bible, warning us about Obedience to him and the consequences if we do not obey. God never left his people wondering what to do next. A plan has always been in place with specific instructions to follow. But since the beginning, when Adam disobeyed God’s command and chose to eat from the forbidden Tree of the Knowledge, Sin entered the human race, and we’ve been tempted and challenged to disobey and go astray, ever since. Despite the many miracles and signs our God has given us. 

Disobedience is Sin, and it breaks our fellowship with God. 

“Again, the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord. They served the Baals and the Ashtoreths, and the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites, and the gods of the Philistines. And because the Israelites forsook the Lord and no longer served him, he became angry with them. He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and the Ammonites, who that year shattered and crushed them. For eighteen years, they oppressed all the Israelites on the east side of the Jordan in Gilead, the land of the Amorites. Judges‬ ‭10‬:‭6‬-‭8‬.

Fortunately, we can repent and turn away because of the price Jesus paid on the cross. We can pray before our God and confess our sins.
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” ‭‭1 John‬ ‭1:‬‭9‬. 
Confession is supposed to free us to enjoy fellowship with God. However, true confession also involves a commitment not to continue in Sin. The key is to pray for the strength to defeat the temptation to sin again or go through a purification process.  

2. Why does Disobedience happen? 

A longing desire for Power, Wisdom, and following our fleshly desires. Without measuring the cost.

“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Genesis‬ ‭3‬:‭4‬-‭6. ‬‬

But Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs—everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed. Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel: “I regret that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions.” Samuel was angry and cried out to the Lord all that night.”‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭15‬:‭9‬-‭11‬. 

“The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.” Jonah‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬-‭3‬. 

These are some examples in the Bible of scenarios in which Disobedience occurred because people desired more knowledge and power and did not want to follow directions. Unfortunately, this did not go well for these people, and the consequences followed immediately. God requires Obedience before anything. 

Whether some of us know it or not, there is a reason we were created, and it is our job to discover that purpose. I can say that this is easier said than done, and I am still a work in progress in that area, but I pray daily for a desire to do what I’m called to do for the glory of God.

Now, attending church, praying, fasting, and walking in righteousness do not substitute for a life of Disobedience and mean nothing if we do not act out of devotion to God or the call on our life. 

But Samuel replied: “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the Sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king. 1 Samuel‬ ‭15‬:‭22‬-‭23‬. 

3. How to navigate it? Discuss and give examples. 

Confess, Repent, and Turn away. Whenever we know we have disobeyed God and His instructions, we must go to him in prayer, meaning we go before him and talk to him. We must confess to God or a trusted believer what the Sin was so that person may pray for us. 

“Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” James‬ ‭5‬:‭16‬.

Repent means to ask God for forgiveness. And make a conscious decision that you will not do that again, with action steps to help you not walk in Disobedience. 

Read this very powerful scripture:

“I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is Sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is Sin living in me that does it.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭7‬:‭15‬-‭20‬. 

“So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of Sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of Sin.” Romans‬ ‭7‬:‭21‬-‭25‬.

The above scriptures were written by the Apostle Paul, who I would say was the GOAT of the disciples in the Bible. It is a DAILY FIGHT!!! To walk in Obedience and not fall into the desires of the flesh. It makes sense why we must fight; it is not just us, it is two laws fighting to dominate and steer us down different paths. 

4. In conclusion, What will God do? What to do? 

“But if you will not listen to me and carry out all these commands, and if you reject my decrees and abhor my laws and fail to carry out all my commands and so violate my covenant, then I will do this to you: I will bring on you sudden terror, wasting diseases and fever that will destroy your sight and sap your strength. You will plant seed in vain, because your enemies will eat it. I will set my face against you so that you will be defeated by your enemies; those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee even when no one is pursuing you. “ ’If after all this you will not listen to me, I will punish you for your sins seven times over. I will break down your stubborn pride and make the sky above you like iron and the ground beneath you like bronze. Your strength will be spent in vain, because your soil will not yield its crops, nor will the trees of your land yield their fruit. “ ’If you remain hostile toward me and refuse to listen to me, I will multiply your afflictions seven times over, as your sins deserve. I will send wild animals against you, and they will rob you of your children, destroy your cattle, and make you so few in number that your roads will be deserted. “ ’If in spite of these things you do not accept my correction but continue to be hostile toward me, I myself will be hostile toward you and will afflict you for your sins seven times over. Leviticus‬ ‭26‬:‭14‬-‭24‬. 

WOW! Just reading that scripture makes me nervous and increases my fear of God and the importance of following his instructions. 

“Look now; I myself am he! There is no other god but me! I am the one who kills and gives life; I am the one who wounds and heals; no one can be rescued from my powerful hand! Now I raise my hand to heaven and declare, “As surely as I live, when I sharpen my flashing sword and begin to carry out justice, I will take revenge on my enemies and repay those who reject me.” Deuteronomy‬ ‭32‬:‭39‬-‭41‬. 

God will not be mocked, and judgment will be rendered in due time. Ask yourself: Are you walking in Obedience? Have you put anything in your life before God? What was the last instruction that God gave you to fulfill? 

“he added: “Take to heart all the words of warning I have given you today. Pass them on as a command to your children so they will obey every word of these instructions. These instructions are not empty words—they are your life! By obeying them, you will enjoy a long life in the land you will occupy when you cross the Jordan River.”
Deuteronomy‬ ‭32‬:‭46‬-‭47‬.

This scripture did not end in Old Testament times; it is for today and applies to us all. Why? You may ask, because the New Testament reads, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬-‭17‬. 

As I end this blog, my spirit is being ministered to, and I had to pause to see if there was anything else I could say about this topic. But Holy Spirit reminded me that nothing could be added or removed. He said, Reread this slowly and allow the words to pierce your heart to the point of pain, and only then will change occur. Fellow reader on the other side of this screen, I encourage you to do the same, not because I typed it, but because this was God working through me to share something so profound and close to my heart and the body of Christ. All to bring awareness and growth to a topic that can make or break the person we are to be. 

Let’s Pray, 

Heavenly Father, all glory, honor, and praise belong to you forever more. Forgive me for my trespasses, for hardening my heart and allowing my selfish motives to blind me and derail me from the plans you have for me. Precious Holy Spirit, help me to do your will and heed the warnings you give me. Please help me dismantle and break the chains that keep me from pursuing my Heavenly purpose. Give me eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart to receive the matchless gift of discernment. I pray this reading invokes reflection and change to equip me to do your will. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.