Quick Obedience
by Melissa Quintos
A few bible stories came to mind when I think of the word loyalty. I’m reminded of the story in the book of Daniel when King Nebuchadnezzar built a giant, golden statue and forced his people to worship it. He declared that if anyone refused to worship the golden statue, they would be put into a furnace of fire. In these few verses, we see Daniel’s friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego’s response. Not only did they refuse to worship the king’s false god, but they also declared their allegiance to their God regardless of the outcome.
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” (Daniel 3:16-18)
Another story is the one about Ruth and Naomi. As we know, the book of Ruth’s story begins with sorrow. When a famine devastated Bethlehem, Naomi and her husband sojourned in Moab, and their two sons took Moabite wives named Ruth and Orpah. But after a decade, the two Moabite wives were left alone when their husbands passed away. Their mother-in-law, Naomi, heard of the Lord’s faithfulness to his people in the land of Judah. Naomi planned to return home and encouraged Ruth and Orpah to stay in Moab and return to their mother’s family. Orpah left, but Ruth clung to her. Here we see Ruth’s statement of loyalty to Naomi:
“Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me”. (Ruth 1:16–17)
I also think and reflect about our King Jesus and his loyalty to the Father.
“Though he was in the form of God, he did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:1-3, 5-8). Here we see our Lord Jesus demonstrating the greatest act of loyalty to the Father by obeying Him even to the point of his death on a cross.
About 10 years ago, I prayed a prayer that changed the trajectory of my life. I was at a point in my life where I realized that going to church to set an example for my son was not enough. A personal relationship with my Savior was what I wanted. I wanted to know Him… intimately. As I was getting ready to go to a women’s retreat, I prayed, “Lord, I’m not leaving this retreat until you do a revival in my heart.” And the Lord did exactly that! The very next day, after coming back from the retreat, I heard the Lord say to me, “Quick obedience is obedience. Delayed obedience is disobedience.” For me personally, the act of showing my affection and loyalty to my King Jesus is simple: QUICK OBEDIENCE.
This fast has been amazing! The Lord has been speaking and so many of us have quickly responded and are receiving breakthroughs from things we didn’t even know were there! The prayer gatherings, whether zoom or in person, have been so good. Truly, the Lord is at work. There’s a fire burning in our hearts that wants more of Jesus and I pray it doesn’t end when the fast ends. Saints, let us continue to press in! When we hear his voice, let us not harden our hearts. I want to leave you with one of my favorite verses, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27). Let us be a people who not only hear His voice but also a people who obey Him!
A few bible stories came to mind when I think of the word loyalty. I’m reminded of the story in the book of Daniel when King Nebuchadnezzar built a giant, golden statue and forced his people to worship it. He declared that if anyone refused to worship the golden statue, they would be put into a furnace of fire. In these few verses, we see Daniel’s friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego’s response. Not only did they refuse to worship the king’s false god, but they also declared their allegiance to their God regardless of the outcome.
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” (Daniel 3:16-18)
Another story is the one about Ruth and Naomi. As we know, the book of Ruth’s story begins with sorrow. When a famine devastated Bethlehem, Naomi and her husband sojourned in Moab, and their two sons took Moabite wives named Ruth and Orpah. But after a decade, the two Moabite wives were left alone when their husbands passed away. Their mother-in-law, Naomi, heard of the Lord’s faithfulness to his people in the land of Judah. Naomi planned to return home and encouraged Ruth and Orpah to stay in Moab and return to their mother’s family. Orpah left, but Ruth clung to her. Here we see Ruth’s statement of loyalty to Naomi:
“Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me”. (Ruth 1:16–17)
I also think and reflect about our King Jesus and his loyalty to the Father.
“Though he was in the form of God, he did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:1-3, 5-8). Here we see our Lord Jesus demonstrating the greatest act of loyalty to the Father by obeying Him even to the point of his death on a cross.
About 10 years ago, I prayed a prayer that changed the trajectory of my life. I was at a point in my life where I realized that going to church to set an example for my son was not enough. A personal relationship with my Savior was what I wanted. I wanted to know Him… intimately. As I was getting ready to go to a women’s retreat, I prayed, “Lord, I’m not leaving this retreat until you do a revival in my heart.” And the Lord did exactly that! The very next day, after coming back from the retreat, I heard the Lord say to me, “Quick obedience is obedience. Delayed obedience is disobedience.” For me personally, the act of showing my affection and loyalty to my King Jesus is simple: QUICK OBEDIENCE.
This fast has been amazing! The Lord has been speaking and so many of us have quickly responded and are receiving breakthroughs from things we didn’t even know were there! The prayer gatherings, whether zoom or in person, have been so good. Truly, the Lord is at work. There’s a fire burning in our hearts that wants more of Jesus and I pray it doesn’t end when the fast ends. Saints, let us continue to press in! When we hear his voice, let us not harden our hearts. I want to leave you with one of my favorite verses, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27). Let us be a people who not only hear His voice but also a people who obey Him!