How often have you heard the phrase, “Blessings come through obedience?”
Many church services emphasize that God’s blessings follow obedience, but what does the Bible truly say about this matter? Does God require His people to obey Him to receive His blessings, or does He bless unconditionally?
Today, let’s take a deep dive into what Scripture teaches about obedience. We will explore biblical examples and reflect on how obedience plays a role in our relationship with God.
The Conditional Blessings of Obedience
When the Israelites, under the leadership of Moses, were delivered from Egypt after 430 years of slavery, God made them a promise. He would bless them abundantly, but there was a condition—they had to obey Him completely.
God outlined specific commands, and their obedience determined whether they would receive His blessings or face consequences.
Deuteronomy 28:1-14 – Blessings for Obedience
“Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you because you obey the voice of the Lord your God:” (Deuteronomy 28:1-2, NKJV)
God’s blessings for Israel included prosperity, security, and favor in everything they did. He promised abundance in their land, protection from their enemies, and a legacy that would make them a holy people.
However, these promises were conditional—they depended on their obedience.
Israel’s Disobedience and God’s Faithfulness
Despite witnessing God’s miracles—the parting of the Red Sea, manna from heaven, water from the rock—the Israelites repeatedly disobeyed. Their rebellion became a cycle, lasting for generations. Yet, God remained faithful to His covenant, showing mercy even when they strayed.
Why, then, does God require obedience? If He remains faithful even when we fall short, why does obedience matter? The answer lies not just in receiving blessings but in demonstrating our love for God. Jesus Himself said:
“If you love Me, keep My commandments.” (John 14:15, NKJV)
Obedience is more than a requirement—it is an expression of love and trust in God.
Lessons from Biblical Characters
The Bible provides powerful examples of people who obeyed God even when it didn’t make sense from a human perspective. Their obedience led to miraculous breakthroughs and blessings.
Obedience When It Doesn’t Make Sense
Joshua – The Walls of Jericho
God promised the Israelites a land flowing with milk and honey, but the first challenge was conquering Jericho—a city with fortified walls.
Instead of using military strategies, God instructed Joshua to march around the city once a day for six days and seven times on the seventh day. On the final march, they were to blow trumpets and shout.
From a military standpoint, this strategy was illogical. But Joshua obeyed without question, and the walls of Jericho collapsed (Joshua 6:1-27).
Naaman – Healed by Obedience
Naaman, a Syrian commander, suffered from leprosy. He sought healing from the prophet Elisha, who told him to wash in the Jordan River seven times. Initially, Naaman was angry—he expected a grand miracle, not a simple act. But after his servants convinced him, he obeyed and was completely healed (2 Kings 5:1-14).
Noah – Building the Ark
In a time when rain was unheard of, God instructed Noah to build a massive ark. People mocked him, yet Noah obeyed. His obedience saved him, his family, and the animal species from the great flood (Genesis 6:9-22).
God often asks us to take steps of obedience that may seem illogical. But His ways are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8-9).
Obedience May Require Sacrifice
Abraham – Offering Isaac
One of the greatest tests of faith in the Bible was when God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac (Genesis 22:1-18). Isaac was the son of promise, yet Abraham obeyed, trusting that God would provide.
At the last moment, God stopped him and provided a ram instead. Because of Abraham’s obedience, God reaffirmed His promise that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars.
Letting Go of What We Hold Dear
Sometimes, God asks us to surrender something we cherish—a job, a relationship, a personal dream. It can be painful, but when we obey, we see that God’s plans are always better. If we are in a relationship that pulls us away from God, He may ask us to let go, trusting that He has someone better in store.
Obedience Can Take Us Out of Our Comfort Zone
Moses – Called to Lead
Moses was reluctant when God called him to lead the Israelites. He argued that he wasn’t a good speaker (Exodus 4:10), but God assured him of His presence. Because Moses obeyed, the Israelites were delivered from bondage.
Peter and the Apostles – Preaching Despite Persecution
The early disciples faced severe persecution for preaching the Gospel. Many were imprisoned, beaten, and even martyred. Yet, they obeyed, and Christianity spread throughout the world (Acts 5:29).
Applying Obedience in Our Lives
What is God Asking You to Do?
Sometimes, God asks us to take steps that seem risky—leaving a secure job to serve in ministry, forgiving someone who deeply hurt us, or stepping into a role we feel unqualified for. Obedience requires faith.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” (Proverbs 3:5, NKJV)
Are You Willing to Let Go?
God may call us to let go of something that is holding us back. It could be a toxic relationship, a sinful habit, or a mindset that limits our faith. Are we willing to trust Him?
Do You Fear Speaking About Your Faith?
Many Christians hesitate to share their faith due to fear of rejection. But Jesus calls us to be bold:
“Whoever acknowledges Me before others, I will also acknowledge before My Father in heaven.” (Matthew 10:32, NIV)
Even if people ridicule us, our obedience in sharing the Gospel has an eternal impact.
Conclusion: Obedience as an Act of Love
Why does God require obedience? While His love is unconditional, His blessings are often conditional. Every act of obedience carries a blessing, but more importantly, obedience is proof of our love for God.
We don’t obey just to receive blessings—we obey because we love and trust Him. If we truly love God, our lives will reflect that love through our actions.
“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” (James 1:22, NKJV)
Let’s examine our hearts today. Are we willing to trust and obey God even when it doesn’t make sense? When we do, we will see His faithfulness unfold in ways beyond what we could ever imagine.
Recommended Resource:
Walking in Obedience: Learning to Trust God Each Step of the Way by Kaysian C. Gordon
What does walking in obedience look like when the world shows you that you do not need to be obedient to anything or anyone but yourself? How do you set aside your own wants and longings to pursue the life that Jesus is calling you to follow?
Samuel said, “Obedience is better than sacrifice.” When I first read that, it took me a while to understand the reference. We are not from a culture of sacrifice. But over time, I came to realize that it was a biblical reference. When you sinned, you needed to present a sacrifice. Jesus became the ultimate sacrifice.
However, what Samuel meant was, that if you walked in obedience, you would not need to make sacrifices to God for forgiveness. It was better to obey than to need forgiveness.
What is God asking you to walk in obedience about?
Obedience always produces a blessing whether we can see it or not.
You’re absolutely right Henry! And God’s blessings may not always be in the form we want and expect but they’re God’s blessings just the same.
Thanks for visiting, shalom and God bless!
You know there is no getting around this, in order to be bless by God we must follow and do as God tells us to do. The examples that you have given in your post shows that God requires and loves obedience. God wants us to trust Him and to know that he has our best interest at heart. Great blessing do come through obedience.
Yes Norman, God does require obedience from His children and he finds pleasure in their obedience, like a father finds delight in the obedience of his kids.
I always like to say that God’s love is unconditional but all His promises come with conditions. We read this over and over again in Scriptures. God is giving us a choice to obey for blessings and disobey for curse.
Well, not literally curse as most people understand the word today. It means, we will not enjoy the fullness of God’s blessings if we do not faithfully obey His commands.
There maybe times when God asks us to do irrational things but in the end we realize that they are really for our own good and benefits. As you said, we’ll just have to trust God in everything because the key to His blessings is obedience.
Have a blessed day, Norman!
God bless you for sharing this article. God’s love for us is unconditional and he is faithful to those that keep his commandment. I am a christian and I love doing Gods’ work although I must say It is difficult to be obedient. It comes with challenges and it requires a lot of sacrifice but I am happier and I feel more at peace when I obey God. There is always a reward from God for our obedience. Obedience keeps the doors of God’s blessings wide open. This article has reminded me of my christian duties, I enjoyed reading it. Thanks
Hello John,
God’s love is indeed amazing because it’s unconditional; it’s not based on what we do nor on who we are and what we are. God loves us all unconditionally no matter how sinful we are and no matter how many times we fail Him.
But we have to understand that although God’s love is unconditional, His promises of blessings always come with conditions. God gives us a choice between blessing and curse, life and death. If we want God’s blessings, we must strive to obey Him faithfully even if it means putting us in uncomfortable situations sometimes.
Yes, obeying God does entail sacrifice on our part but we know after we have obeyed that the blessings will follow. I couldn’t agree more with what you said that, “obedience keeps the doors of God’s blessings wide open.”
God bless you John!
hi Alice. Nice to meet you, and I must say I love your website, I am a Christian my self or at least I try to be, it’s not all that easy all the time, When trying to follow God’s plan we tend to fall off the path with so many distraction in the world today one could only hope for the return of our king to be swift and forth coming, I really love what you are doing here and I hope to see more of the site pop up..
Hi Denney, nice meeting you as well.
Obedience is one aspect of a Christian’s life that is not always easy because we tend to have many excuses, but mostly because it’s often difficult for us to give up the things that we have gotten used to before becoming followers of Christ. We feel like following Christ means we’re sacrificing a lot but in reality, it was Christ who sacrificed His own life to purchase our salvation.
Indeed, there are a lot of distractions in this world but we have to always keep our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. He’s coming very soon and we don’t want Him to come and find us not ready for Him.
Thank you for this post. I’ve been struggling with some decisions lately. Being obedient has always been my goal, but sometimes I struggle with the follow through. This has definitely given me something to think about.
It is difficult in the midst of trials to remember God’s faithfulness, but God has never let me down before. I believe if I am obedient to his direction and guidance, God will provide a way through the trials.
Thank you for this reminder today.
Hello Teresa,
Often times in our Christian life we have to face the challenge of making difficult decisions. There are even times when no matter how much we desire to obey and submit to the will of God, we struggle and so we try to do things our way, only to realize later on that t’was a big mistake and that we should have trusted God without any question or hesitation.
God loves us unconditionally and He always wants what’s best for us. We may not always understand His ways but we’re assured that He always has our best interest at heart.
Obedience will always bring in the blessings. God is truly faithful because it’s His character and His character is unchanging.
Great article! It always surprises me when I read through the Old Testament and see how often and easily the Israelites disobeyed God and turned to their own wicked ways. Then I am humbled because I think about my own life and how often I do the same thing.
But, like you explain, when I do choose to obey God, I always feel blessed. Just the joy in obeying God is a blessing in my life. When I am selfish and turn my own way, I complain and dwell in self pity. But when I seek the Lord and choose to obey Him, I am blessed in more ways than I realize.
You are so right in saying that God doesn’t always answer our prayers in the way we ask, but He does answer them in the best way. It’s up to us to continue to have faith and obey by following His lead or choose to complain and try to do things on our own.
Obedience is a sign of our love for God. It is also a sign of taking our focus off of self.
Thank you for this good word!
Weston
Hi Weston,
Indeed God is faithful no matter how unfaithful we are. Many times in our walk with the Lord we falter, we fail to obey Him but God is so gracious. He continues to bless us with so much more than we deserve.
We are so blessed because we have a relationship with our Lord Jesus who loves us so much that He gave His life to pay for the penalty of our sins. We may never be able to love Him back the same way He loves us but we can show Him how much we love Him through our obedience.
We may not always understand His ways and His plans but we need to trust that God always has our best interest at heart.
God bless you Weston and thanks for sharing your story.
Just want to share this comment from a pastor/friend who’d rather not comment directly on this post. And I quote:
“The content of the subject is really good but let me share a little bit background to add some color. The opening verse used was a covenant between God and the Jewish nation. The covenant or agreement actually started from Abraham and confirmed through Moses in the Book of Exodus up to Leviticus. Then reaffirmed in the Book of Deuteronomy since the first Jews that came from Egypt already died, including Moses. Except of course Joshua and Caleb.
The obedience taught in the book of Pentateuch was indeed an order of obedience accompanied with blessing. The reason was that God knew beforehand that the Jews will not be able to comply with the Laws (life style) imposed on them. The promise of blessing was actually a further motivation for them to follow and obey God. But it’s a completely different case in the NT books or writings.”