Obedience (Part 2)
Manifest destiny
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Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.
John 14:21 (ESV)
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Manifest: to show plainly; to make appear distinctly, usually to the mind.
I’ve had many seasons of life where I felt lost and was looking for God to clearly show Himself to me.
Not a coincidence that often those seasons lined up with times when I was disobedient in some way. Usually struggling with some sin that I refused to give up to God (for whatever reason, seems dumb now).
A lot of people wonder, “how can I hear from God?”
Well, here’s a verse giving you an answer to that question.
Obedience.
…
Yeah, not the most appealing answer.
But not only is it the Scripturally correct answer, it’s one that my own experience backs up as the correct answer.
Also:
I tend to think of obedience as some sort of hard chore. Something that I only do because I have to but not something I would actually enjoy doing.
But that’s a short-sighted view of God.
Obeying God is easy, actually, when it’s actions that overflow from a loving relationship with Him.
Okay, not easy 100% of the time … but … always worth it.
Certainly it’s been worth it for me.
Maybe you too? Let me know.
— Ricky Ketchum
Copyright © 2025 by Ricky Ketchum. All rights reserved. Unauthorized duplication prohibited.
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Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from the ESV®Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright© 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (NKJV) are from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.