Text: Act 16:6-10
Memory verse:
”After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them.“
‭‭Acts‬ ‭16‬:‭7‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Faith is like a heavy loaded rifle, while obedience is the trigger. So, faith without obedience is power in your hand that is not helpful to you.
Obedience opens the door to God’s storehouse. Your sincerity, irrespective of what you say, is still in doubt until your obedience is established.
God will not trust you with His treasure until you have been tested in the school of obedience. Even our Lord Jesus in His human form had to pass that test to lay an example for us. Obedience is the ladder for exaltation. The scripture records it that ”though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.“ ‭‭(Heb‬ ‭5‬:‭8‬). He pursued the will of His Father above His, from the beginning even to death on the cross. And because of this, God promoted Him to the highest place in heaven and on earth. God also conferred power on His name (Phil ‭2‬:‭9‬).
You see, Jesus didn’t just inherit the name, but He also earned it. Obedience was the prize of His enthronement. No one can command God’s power who hasn’t taken His command as his life’s command.
Also, it is not enough to obey. Rather, you must carry out His instructions to the letter. According to our text, Paul and Silas went to the province of Asia during their second missionary journey, but the Holy Spirit stopped them from preaching there. They then moved to the province of Bithynia, and still, the Spirit didn’t permit them. God does not only order our steps but our stops! They kept obeying until they received a leading to go to Macedonia, in Northern Greece, and stayed in Philippi. There, God worked wonders through them, including the baptism of Lydia; the deliverance of the girl with the spirit of divination; the prison earthquake; the salvation of the jailer and his household and the various effects of these acts.
They obeyed the Spirit totally and not partially. Obedience is doing what you are commanded to do and not what you think you should do. God won’t command His blessings on what He hasn’t commanded. God will only do what He has called you to do (1 Thes 5:24). There are many today who are running errands that they have not been given because they look more appealing than the ones that were given!
Friends, faith is a tool to live a life of power and fulfillment, but it will be ineffective unless it’s backed up with total obedience.

Prayer points
1. Father, please help me to make my faith effective by living a life of total obedience in Jesus’ name.
2. Father, let me never deviate from what You have called me to do, lest my faith suffer failure, in Jesus’ name.

Today’s declarations
1. My faith is effective because I stick to what God has called me to do and not what I like to do or what is more appealing.
2. I command God’s power as I stay under authority, and I take His command as my life’s command.