Seeing that God indeed is good, faithful, loving, merciful, entirely worthy of our complete trust, adoration, and total obedience, why do we allow the world, our lazy, cowardly flesh, and our rebellious personality to overcome our better judgment? Why do we continue to do this? Are we so beyond redemption that we deserve only to be chained in the darkness with all the other rebels?

Or are we forever doomed to hesitate between two opinions: should I obey God or not? Let me see—I think I will, I think I won't. How incredibly stupid! How utterly lacking in character and wisdom!

Let us be done with this nonsense, such as "the world is waiting to see someone who will obey God perfectly." Let us all obey God perfectly in any and all situations.

Let us make the following passage our eternal theme:

I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart. (Psalms 40:8—NIV)

We delight to do God's will. We desire to do God's will. His eternal moral law is being written in our mind and heart.

The record of the heroes of faith of the Bible informs us God is to be absolutely trusted.

Our own experience through the years tells us God is to be absolutely trusted.

When God puts us in prison, withholding our most fervent desires, demanding that we remain in situations we abhor, then let us remain faithful to Him whose name is Faithful.

If we are to receive the crown of life we must remain faithful to the point of death. Nothing less is required of God's rulers, His sons.

Suffering burns the disobedience, the self-will, the rebellion from our personality. There is no other way. We learn obedience through the things we suffer if we, as Jesus did, remain faithful to God.

What is it we are unwilling to yield to God? In what area are we unwilling to trust the Faithful One?

What filthy rags of fleshly desire are we unwilling to exchange for the robes of the royal priesthood?

What ambition are we unwilling to exchange for the peace that always accompanies obedience to the Father?

What bag of money are we coveting that we would not exchange for the approval of God?

What little paradise of our own making stands between us and the prospect of hearing "Well done, good and faithful servant"?

Have we no sense at all? Are we such animals that we are ready to trade our inheritance as a son of God for an adulterous affair with a treacherous, unprincipled person, for a relationship that will cause us to destroy those who have trusted in us?

Now, in this present world, while we are beset round about with Satan and his demons who cackle with glee when a believer disobeys the Father, let us resolve with unwavering determination to DO GOD'S WILL no matter what it may be. We will discover His burden is easy, His yoke is light. Here we have been breaking our back, trying to create our own heaven and earth, when God before the foundation of the world outlined a destiny for us of eternal pleasure.

We have this one opportunity to demonstrate to God, as the Lord Jesus did, that no matter what others do, we are going to obey Him. No matter what He withholds from us, no matter how bleak our future may appear to be, we will, by His strength and grace, march straight forward in utter confidence that God exists and is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

This present world is a boot camp, a probationary period. If we try to make our own heaven while we are here we will have to compromise our integrity. We will have to betray those who trust us.

We will have all eternity to reflect on the decisions we are making today.

Iron righteousness.

Fiery holiness.

Stern obedience to the Father.

Of these three the most important is stern obedience to the Father.

Until we learn to obey God in all He says to us we are not worthy to be called a son of God. (from Iron, Fire, and Stern Obedience)