Instant obedience is the only kind of obedience there is, for delayed obedience is disobedience. Each time God calls upon us to do something, He is offering to make a covenant with us. Our part is to obey , and then He will do His part to send a special blessing.

The only way to be obedient is to obey instantly—“ On that very day,” as Abraham did. I know we often postpone doing what we know to do, and then later do it as well as we can. Certainly this is better than not doing it at all. By then, however , it is at best only a crippled, disfigured, and partial attempt toward obedience. Postponed obedience can never bring us the full blessing God intended or what it would have brought had we obeyed at the earliest possible moment .

What a pity it is how we rob ourselves, as well as God and others, by our procrastinat ion! Remember , “On that very day” is the Genesis way of saying, “Do it now!” Messages for the Morning W atch

Martin Luther once said, “A true believer will crucify , or put to death, the question, ‘Why?’ He will simply obey without questioni ng.” And I refuse to be one of those people who “unless . . . [I] see signs and wonders . . . will never believe” (John 4:48). I will obey without questioning.

Ours not to make r eply, Ours not to r eason why , Ours but to do and die.

Obedience is the fruit of faith; patience is the early blossom on the tree of faith. CHRISTINA ROSSETTI