Proverbs 3:5

What am I holding onto that obedience calls me to release?

Genesis 19-26— NASB

26 But Lot’s wife, from behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

Luke 17:32 — NASB

32 Remember Lot’s wife. 33 Whoever strives to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will keep it.

How does obedience flow from knowing Christ?

1 John 2:3-6 — NASB

3 By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; 5 but whoever follows His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: 6 the one who says that he remains in Him ought, himself also, to walk just as He walked.

Where else could I go but to the words of life?

John 6:66-69 — NASB

66 As a result of this many of His disciples left, and would no longer walk with Him. 67 So Jesus said to the twelve, “You do not want to leave also, do you?” 68 Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. 69 And we have already believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.”

How does wholehearted obedience honor God?

Colossians 3:23-24 — NASB

23 Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord and not for people, 24 knowing that it is from the Lord that you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.

What cost might obedience require of me right now?

Philippians 3:7-8 — NASB

7 But whatever things were gain to me, these things I have counted as loss because of Christ. 8 More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them mere rubbish, so that I may gain Christ,

Are you listening to God’s Word or living it out?

James 1:22-25 NASB

22 But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not just hearers who deceive themselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; 24 for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. 25 But one who has looked intently at the perfect law, the law of freedom, and has continued in it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an active doer, this person will be blessed in what he does.

What blessing might obedience unlock in your life?

Isaiah 48:17-18 NASB

17 This is what the Lord says, He who is your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:

“I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to benefit,
Who leads you in the way you should go.
18 If only you had paid attention to My commandments!
Then your well-being would have been like a river,
And your righteousness like the waves of the sea.

Where might partial obedience be disguising disobedience?

Psalm 119:33-40 NASB

33 Teach me, the way of Your statutes, Lord,
And I shall comply with it to the end.
34 Give me understanding, so that I may comply with Your Law
And keep it with all my heart.
35 Make me walk in the path of Your commandments,
For I delight in it.
36 Incline my heart to Your testimonies,
And not to dishonest gain.
37 Turn my eyes away from looking at what is worthless,
And revive me in Your ways.
38 Establish Your word to Your servant
As that which produces reverence for You.
39 Take away my disgrace which I dread,
For Your judgments are good.
40 Behold, I long for Your precepts;
Revive me through Your righteousness.

What keeps your heart from trusting God’s commands?

Deuteronomy 10:12-13 NASB

12 “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to keep the Lord’s commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good?

How does Jesus define true obedience?

Matthew 7:21-27 NASB

21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22 Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; leave Me, you who practice lawlessness.’

24 “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts on them, will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of Mine, and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and its collapse was great.”

Where am I tempted to substitute convenience for obedience?

Romans 12:1 NASB

1 Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.

What does trusting God look like when obedience feels difficult?

Proverbs 3:5-7 NASB

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight.
7 Do not be wise in your own eyes;
Fear the Lord and turn away from evil.