“Aye aye, Cap’n!”
To the captain of a ship, these are words that show respect and obedience. When you have the respect of your crew, it will be smooth sailing. Yet if that crew refuses to obey the commands of their captain, chaos ensues. There is no harmony aboard, and that can spell disaster, or a captain’s worst nightmare—mutiny.
He who scorns instruction will pay for it, but he who respects a command is rewarded (Proverbs 13:13 NIV).
When you are in military service, you must follow commands. If you slack off in your duties, you never will advance your career. If you heed every command and do your job faithfully, you eventually will get promoted. Some commands are easier to follow than others. Some commands you may not necessarily agree with, yet you must follow them all.
Even when you are just an everyday civilian, there are commands that you must follow. God gives us specific commands in His Word that we are supposed to follow. We are expected to follow all of His orders, not just some of them.
If you love me, keep my commands (John 14:15 NIV).
This is a powerful statement Jesus made. Simply stated: if we do not follow His commands, we are saying that we do not love Him.
Are you willing to say that? I know I’m not.
I intend to do my best to always follow His commands.
Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs—he wants to please his commanding officer (2 Timothy 2:3–4 NIV).
We can’t pick and choose which commands to follow. The Bible is our instruction manual; and if we don’t follow each and every command, our lives will be incomplete. If we want to advance in God’s army, we must obey Him fully.
Are you in God’s army? I encourage you to read God’s Word daily and follow His every command. Show Him that you love Him. And don’t forget to equip yourself with the full armor of God before you venture out.
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes (Ephesians 6: 10–11 NIV).
Be strong and courageous, for the LORD will be with you wherever you go (Joshua 1:9 NIV).
Debbie Mitchell