Jesus described those who love Him when He said, "he who has my commandments and keeps them is he who loves me" (Jn. 14:21). It's easy to say that we love Jesus, but the evidence of our love for Him lies within our obedience to Him. We can sing our songs of love and worship, but if they are not accompanied with obedience to His word then we're just playing some sort of a religious game. To love God is to obey God. Obedience is more than saying that I love someone. It's reaching out through concrete actions to that person.

If I were a rancher and needed to build a fence to keep in the cattle, it would be an act of love for my son to say to me, "Dad, I'd like to help you build that fence." It would be great to hear him say, "Dad, I love you." That would mean a great deal to me. But if he went a step further and said, "Dad, I love you, and because of that, I want to pitch in and help you build that fence," then that would be a great expression of his love for me.

Jesus has given us commandments. There's a way of life for the Christian. It's the walk of obedience. There's a very interesting thing that takes place when we obey the word of God. God makes Himself known to us. He discloses Himself to us. In other words, obedience breeds the knowledge of God, and the knowledge of God produces victory. It's cyclic. The more we obey the word of God, the more we're enabled to live a life of victory.

The opposite is also true. When we disobey God, then our fellowship with Him is broken. If we continue to live in disobedience, then we find ourselves going deeper and deeper in the sinking sands of sin. It becomes more and more difficult to walk in victory. Spiritual strongholds are built in areas of our hearts. Brick by brick, disobedient act by disobedient act, Satan is able to build a fortress in our hearts. We eventually find ourselves captive to degrading desires and secret sins. Defeat begins to describe the spiritual condition of our lives.

There's only one way out of the prison that's been built around our lives. Brick by brick, we must tear down the fortress. One act of obedience by another act of obedience, we will begin to see God's light and experience victory. We need not be discouraged by one moment of failure. God has given us clear instructions. He says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). When we admit that we've been wrong and turn from that wrong, then God will forgive us, pick us up, and enable us to walk with Him once again.

When my son, Dave, was about one year old, he began to attempt to walk. I'll never forget that first step. His mother and I were so proud of him. But when he took that first step, he fell down. Now, I didn't fuss at him. I didn't say, "What are you doing? Why are you so clumsy?" No. I encouraged him to get up and try again.

Sure. He cried a little. But he got back up and tried to take another step. He kept doing that until he successfully made that first step. Then he tried to take a few steps. He fell again. But he got back up and continued to try to walk. Soon, he was walking everywhere - then running - then jumping. It wasn't long until walking and running became a natural function of his life.

The same is true in our Christian life. Yes, there will be times of failure. But never forget that God is pulling for you. He's on your team. He wants you to walk successfully. He's standing there saying, "Come on, get up. You can do it." He reaches His hand out to help us up and says, "Now, take another step." The more we do that, the more victory we experience. Soon, walking in victory becomes a supernatural natural way of life. It becomes the norm. Perhaps, that's why the old hymn writer said, "Trust and obey. For there's no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey."