God Encourages Our Obedience (Ps 119:57-64)

Obedience is hard. It is hard because sin is easy. But, at the risk of being overly simplistic, God rejoices when we obey. It brings Him pleasure to see His children obey Him (John 14:15). That is the theme of Psalm 119:57-64.

And when we are growing, the evidence is not just an eagerness to obey, but a quick decision to obey. A Christians makes haste to be obedient to God (vs. 60).

But, even if we want to obey and obey quickly, we also know that the Evil One is eager to slow us down, to discourage us, to tempt us to think our old way of living is better. That is why the psalmist talks about the “cords of the wicked” as binding. They can trap us.

Thus, we cannot let our guard down (Eph 6:10-18). The devil does not believe in cease fires. And even in the middle of the night (Ps 119:62), as we lie awake, we can be aware that God is able to assist us in this fight.

Why “midnight”? The night is a time when the world is shut out; it is a time of contemplation. It is a time when enemies are quieted.

And, thankfully, when you are part of the church of Christ, you have as many – if not more – friends than you do enemies to encourage your obedience.

In conclusion, let me share this true story from the life of Roger Staubach. Roger Staubach who led the Dallas Cowboys to the Super Bowl in 1971 admitted that his position as a quarterback who didn’t call his own signals was a source of trial for him. Coach Landry sent in every play. He told Staubach when to pass, when to run and only in emergency situations could he change the play. Even though Staubach considered coach Landry to have a “genius mind” when it came to football strategy, pride said that he should be able to run his own team.

Staubach later said, “I faced up to the issue of obedience. Once I learned to obey there was harmony, fulfillment, and victory.”