Hello. It’s nice to have you here, again. This is in continuation of the article: The Key to Joyful Living: Grow in Christ-likeness – Peter Tan-Chi. According to this article, the key to joyful living is to grow in Christ-likeness through following the four principles. The first of these four is to be obedient.
God wants us to obey. However, a lot of us are rebellious in nature. We like to go our own ways. Simply, we don’t want to obey. What we don’t know is that rules are given for our own protection. Take for example our case right now where we are obliged not to go out of our own homes. The government is doing this to protect not only ourselves, but also the community, the country. The fact of being stuck at home means there’s no more going to the malls, gym, parks, or wherever we spend our time outside work is. Our actions are being limited. If we are selfish, we will think that the government is so strict and is torturing us. But, if we see the bigger picture, it is actually for our benefit. When we get infected of the virus, even after lockdown, we can never experience the things we used to do, unless we can recover from it.
The One who is in charge of our lives loves us. That’s why He is telling us to obey those in authority. In our own mind, sometimes these rules don’t make sense at all. But, we only need to learn to trust in Him. The only time we disobey rules is when it is in contradiction to the Word of God.
Not all things are good
Not all things are good. Look at the world today. War is on-going. Deaths are not good. Chronic illnesses are not good. Drug addiction is not good. COVID-19 is not good. But, the bible says that, “We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” God can actually take things, good or bad, and put them in the crucible of His love and wisdom to make a medicine that actually brings healing.
We may not understand what is going through right now, but one of the things we need to do is to be obedient. Here are a few questions raised by Pastor Peter in the clip:
- How are you in the area of obeying those in authority?
- Children, are you obeying your parents from the heart? Do you trust them?
- Wives, how are you doing in the area of respect and submission to your husband?
May we be able to ponder on these questions and try to examine our lives if we are really obedient or rebellious. Be obedient by faith. Be obedient with great expectation knowing that God’s design is for us to obey those in authority.
Remember, it takes humility to obey. Remember, obedience brings blessings.
Watch the clip here:
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Cha of Little Misadvencha is a Filipino Civil Engineer, researcher and a fur mom. She came from General Santos City and finds that everything in life teaches her a lesson. She is inspired to write about and out of her experiences, but later found out that it was her experiences that actually inspire her.
Unfortunately, many people have the “it won’t happen to me” mentality and it is affecting others. Many people need to stop just thinking of themselves and be part of the solution.
I believe COVID-19 will bring some healing. Healing to people and to this planet.