PODCAST
Obedience Begets Intimacy
October 17th, 2022
Judges 2:1-9
In Judges chapter one, the Israelites stopped short of fulfilling their charge from God, allowing Canaanites to stay in the land. Now, in Judges chapter two, God calls out their disobedience. In verse three, God says of the Canaanites, “they will become traps for you, and their gods will become snares to you.” We could read this like a punishment, but really God is laying out the natural consequences of the actions.
Disobedience breaks our intimacy with God. When that wedge is driven in, we make space for other things to take hold. When we are far from God, it’s certainly true that other people, other relationships, other priorities can become traps for us.
Obedience is not just about blindly following the rules of our King, it’s about investing in the closeness offered by our Friend. Obedience begets intimacy, and intimacy empowers us to hold our ground against the snares and traps that try to find their way into our relationship.
Author: Kyle Tyler
Tags: Obedience
October 17th, 2022 at 3:11 pm
Amen! Sin is a result of disobedience and sin separates us from God. There’s a really short verse in the Word of God when Paul told the church of Ephesus not to give room to the devil in Ephesians 4:27 I hold this verse really close to my heart because it clearly states to not “give room” or “make space” (as the devotional mentions above) to anything that may become a trap to us. Submit those traps to God, whether it’s other people, relationships, or addictions. Visualize yourself placing them at the foot of the cross.
When we abide in Christ, obedience will be a natural response for us. Why? Because we make room for the Holy Spirit to abide in us. John 15:5 There won’t be a struggle or turmoil, you’ll simply abide and let the Spirit produce the results. And the result will be obedience.
Lastly, this devotion reminds me of Romans 6:16-18 when Paul said that whatever we present ourselves as obedient slaves we are slaves of the one whom we obey — either sin (which leads to death) or of obedience, (which leads to righteousness)! He says in verse 18 that we have been set free from sin and have become slaves of righteousness. Hallelujah!