Is Obeying God Really Hard?

Yes and No

Ottawa, Canada

My mom recently told me I was brave for obeying God’s voice to move to Nigeria. I’d never seen myself as brave. I know I’ve been praised in the past for ‘obeying God’ by taking some actions or doing certain things in the past. But I mean anybody can come online and boast about about their obedience to God. What about the times I’ve missed it or acted cowardly?

What about the days I don’t feel my best or I don’t feel like obeying God? Thank God we’re justified by faith and not by what we do or don’t do.

Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.-Romans 5:1

More scriptures that reveal we are justified by faith alone-Acts 16:31; Romans 3:28; 4:5; 5:1; Galatians 2:16; 3:24; Ephesians 1:13; and Philippians 3:9.

May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.-Galatians 6:14

A few weeks after God told me to leave Canada for Nigeria, I had doubts. Questions rose from the depths of my heart. You can read more here. The first time I got the witness within to do so, I didn’t think it was God. Funny enough, a friend had mentioned it a couple of times but I’d dismissed him and the thought.

Hiya Abas! :)

I actually brushed it aside because Nigeria was the last thing on my mind. Nigeria of all places. How and why? It wasn’t a conversation worth having or thinking about. Nigeria was the last place any sane human wanted to move back to.

Prior to that, I’d sensed it somewhere in my heart about going to Nigeria, but it was a fleeting thought. Negligible. But there was a particular day it hit me. I was done striving and calculating my other choices. I was in a fix since another door seemed to be open but there was no clarity from God about that door.

I had gotten to the end of myself and out of frustration, I asked,

God, where do I go?

Why don’t you go home?

Yep. God’s voice came like a suggestion which made me dismiss it immediately. But then I paused after a few minutes had passed.

‘Well, what if I actually go home?’ I thought to myself. ‘What’s stopping me from doing so?’

And all my reasons for not doing so fell flat against the peace and clarity I felt about the decision.

So, is obeying God really hard?

Overtime, this question has been ricocheting in my mind and I sensed the need to write about it. Is God really hard or is it just us? Is God being unreasonable by requesting certain things from us?

If so, why would John say things like,

‘Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are NOT burdensome, BECAUSE everyone born of God overcomes the world’-1John5:3

Why would Jesus say, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you REST.’-Matthew 11:28

Because in the mouth of two to three witnesses, truth is established. So why are we told obedience to God is easy and restful if it ‘feels’ otherwise? Why does Love feel so hard on somedays? Why does waiting on God feel like you’re losing yourself?

What makes obeying God feel difficult?

Flesh

Our flesh loves predictability and certainty. We love to move by what we see, but God, although invisible, knows the end from the beginning and wants us to trust Him. God is limitless although we are limited.

Obeying God means accepting that life may not go the way we planned it, but God’s plans are better. It feels hard because flesh doesn’t really like to be surprised or interrupted. Because living by our senses seems to be all there is and all we can see.

Our flesh makes it feel like it’s impossible to obey God and that’s because we’re so used to it. It’s all the world ever talks about. It’s what the world makes us believe. It’s always in our faces. The broad way that is. The fleshy way.

Because it’s what you pay attention to most that looks real and feels ‘bigger’

But what if you stop thinking of what your flesh wants and start looking at what’s best for you through the lens of Christ?

What if you magnify God’s word above what you think or feel?

You’ll discover that it’s not so difficult after all.

Remember those days you’d discipline yourself to get what you want? How about putting your body under for the ultimate crown of life?

Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him-James 1:12

Comparison

Comparison is the thief of joy - Theodore Roosevelt.

Although I’m glad to be in the centre of God’s will, I battle comparison sometimes. I still see pictures of those I left behind. I see how people are thriving there and sometimes I can’t help but wonder, why do I have to be the one God chose to return to Nigeria? Why does my story feel different? Others seem to be having it better than I am. Why can’t my healing process happen in the Bahamas or some other luxurious country?

Does God like me like this?

But this is my story. This is my lane. Everyday is another day to conquer those thoughts through God’s word. It’s in times like this I keep my gaze on Him and trust that He is good, and He is God. We are all unique, created for God’s glory, to exhibit his masterpiece in diverse ways. I cannot afford to compare myself with others. This is the path God has chosen for me. I must trust his sovereignty and leading.

Besides, living here is not that bad, and I’ve learned and still learning that perspective is very important. My definition of success too is essential in times like this.

External Factors (The World)

Weeks after I got the impression to move back, I was bombarded with bad news of Nigeria. From the NewYork Times newsletter I was subscribed to, to a few of my friends whose reactions to the news scared me, to the current reality I could see about Nigeria.

Even my parents were initially worried about my decision and it took a lot of convincing from my end to put their mind at ease.

Nigeria was and is a place people japad from, not to.

Nigeria is a country people despise due to the lawlessness and chaos. People leave without looking back.

I grew scared. I also started having bad dreams about the decision. I started to rethink the decision and kept applying aggressively for jobs. I’d stay up past midnight to apply, convincing myself that maybe… just maybe I was wrong about the conviction.

The doors remained closed. Like Jonah running from Nineveh because he didn’t think the country was worth it. God kept pursuing me.

The moment I surrendered to the leading within, I’d wake up with songs in my spirit about trusting God in the valley. Even in gardens and deserts. The HolySpirit would console me with songs and scriptures that I held unto, confirming his word.

The more I focused on the world and my flesh, the less appealing God’s choice felt. But the moment I shut down the other voices and unsubscribed from faith deflating articles and voices, it became easier. Nigeria suddenly felt like a country I wanted to live again. I knew it wasn’t going to be a bed of roses, I knew it’d take a lot of adapting to live here, but once I looked unto Jesus, the author and finisher of my faith, it no longer felt like I was going to die. It felt like a pleasant decision that would usher my next season into life.

Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.-Hebrews 12:2

Moving to Nigeria became a necessary path I had to walk through.

It’s a part of my healing process.

I’m glad I came and so far, I’ve seen God move in the most amazing ways for me.

I won’t lie, it’s chaotic here. It’s not ‘convenient’. It feels like a wilderness. There are days I wonder, what am I doing here?

But who says you can’t live in abundance even in the wilderness? Just look at the Israelites. They were literally thriving in the wilderness, even compared to other nations.

Obeying God feels difficult when we focus on everything else but God. Whatever we magnify unconsciously becomes our ‘god.’ If we focus on our comfort zone, pleasure and self, those things have become our reason for existence, no matter how much we claim to love Jesus.

Love is like a garden

If you water it well enough, it will bloom. If you’re intentional about it, it will grow and you’ll reap the fruits. When you love someone, you put in the work because it’s worth it. That’s what makes it less difficult. The fact that it’s worth it.

Nothing good comes easy. Even Love. But the fruit is pleasant.

Loving God makes obedience less difficult. It’s the reason why Christianity is more than rules and restrictions. It’s a relationship. It’s understanding the role of Jesus in your life and your role in His. If you want it to work, you put in the work. If you don’t, then you’re better off doing something else or you’d just be wasting your time ticking legalistic boxes.

Christianity is a relationship that happened because God chose to be proactive about His love for me, even when it was the most inconvenient thing to do. He died the most shameful death, overcame sin for me and tells me I can bask in his victory.

And you ask if obeying a God (who did the best and wants the best for me is hard when God already did the hardest thing no one else could do?

What we need is a mind-shift.

Have you observed that everything God tells us to do is actually for our own good? Every instruction he gives us… about our bodies, relationships and love. Everything is about us and our emotional, spiritual, and mental health. It’s about how we can live up to our potential. Because he sees what we can become at the end of our journey, and holds the key to our ultimate happiness and fulfilment.

There’s nobody who’s ever truly obeyed God that regretted it. If you find yourself regretting it, you need to check what you’ve believed or the last instruction you received from God. When things got really difficult for me in 2022/2023, I did a reassessment and discovered I was stuck in a religious rut. My relationship with Jesus was suffering and felt burdensome. I was NOT at rest. I battled a lot of anxiety. God felt so distant. I was also in a (toxic) place God hadn’t planted me and had to remove myself by going back to God’s word objectively and asking honest questions.

I was sincere with myself and I was done living in denial.

This is how my liberty came about. Because where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty - 2 Corinthians 3:17

Not fear (of punishment or judgement), but liberty to love God and do His will.

Now, I’m in a better place. Because God’s love heals, restores and makes us whole.

Obedience to God isn’t as difficult as we make it seem.

What we need is a mind-shift—That we are born of God, and this makes us capable enough to overcome the world.

For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith-1 John 5:4

P.S. As someone who’s been through an emotional and spiritually abusive relationship before, I understand how abuse can be projected as love/God’s love. But I would never condone such. The HolySpirit doesn’t either. Although sensitive, I plan to address the topic soon in my newsletter, but if you sense you’re in a relationship that feels like you’re being crushed, abused, or gaslighted to the point that you’re even beginning to doubt God’s love for you, please seek help or a counsellor ASAP.

God’s love will never crush you, but heals, cleanses and restores.

Bloom with Love. Xx!