Praise the Lord.  Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in His commands.

                                   — Psalm 112:1

I previously spoke on this verse, explaining how God is more glorified in His people when we obey His commands because we find great delight in doing so; rather than obeying out of heartless duty.  However, what about the times that we DON’T delight in obedience?  It wouldn’t be helpful to deny the fact that sometimes disobedience seems more delightful at the time.  So what do we do when disobedience seems more pleasurable? 

I believe that the first part of the verse is crucial in overcoming this obstacle: “blessed is the man who FEARS the Lord…”

If you encountered God in His glory, you would not disobey – you would be too afraid to.  All disobedience starts with a lack of fear of the Lord.  The goal is to obey God out of delight and joy, but that motivation most times comes AFTER obedience (the blessed man “FINDS great delight in His commands”… the joy is found after obedience).  No one in their sinful mind obeys God initially out of joy, but out of fear.

Once a sinner obeys God and is born again, they now have a new found joy in obedience that wasn’t there before.  Our whole life is now a matter of transforming our minds into trusting that God’s ways lead to blessings and joy.  When our sinful nature tries to convince us of anything else, it’s helpful to think back to our initial motivation and remember the fear of the Lord. 

APPLICATION:
Have the motivation of obeying God out of the delight and joy that you find in His commands; but when that delight and joy in His commands isn’t there, reflect on the fear of the Lord. 

Heavenly Father, I believe that your intention for my obedience is for my blessing and joy.  I pray that I would never grow numb to the fear of you, so that during the times disobedience seems more pleasurable, the fear of the Lord would be a shield against sin. In Jesus’ Name I pray, AMEN.