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“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces.
For you neither enter yourselves nor allow
those who would enter to go in.”

– Matthew 23:13

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How to Obey God: The Lie That Sounds True

Have you ever noticed that Jesus would get furious with religious leaders for driving a wedge between the people and God? Search the Gospels, and you’ll find that nothing and no one made him angrier.

 Yet even today, it’s tempting to listen to the religious spirit that separates us from God because it echoes the voice in us that tells us we’re not enough: 

“You need to listen to that teacher, read that book, get that certification, have that breakthrough—then you’ll have what it takes to come close to God or do anything for Him . . . then you’ll be holy enough to be healed or useful.” 

This voice is exhausting, and, according to both Jesus and Moses, it’s also a liar.

Deuteronomy 30:11–14: God’s Word Is Very Near You

In Deuteronomy 30:11–14, Moses tells Israel, “This commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend to heaven for us?’ Neither is it beyond the sea . . . But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it.”

In this passage, Moses isn’t so much dismantling the difficulty of obedience as he is dismantling the myth that the power to obey is somewhere distant, somewhere hard to reach.

We tend to assume, though, that what we need is somewhere else: further training, deeper insight, more experience. But Moses says it’s already in your heart . . . a power activated through embodied faith.

Jesus picks up the same thread years later. He says rivers of living water will flow from our hearts, guiding our steps (John 7:37–39). The question is, will we partner with God’s Spirit and embrace the flow of faith or will we cling to our smallness?

The Wise and Foolish Builders: The Difference Is Practice (Matthew 7)

In Matthew 7, Jesus closes his famous sermon by comparing the wise builder and the foolish one. Both hear the words. Both, in a sense, know what to do. The difference isn’t information or perfection—it’s practice. The wise man, the one who builds a house that weathers storms, hears and does. The foolish one whose house is destroyed hears the words but doesn’t do them.

Respond

God has written so much on our hearts, planting the truth within us by the power of His Spirit (James 1:24, 1 John 3:9, 1 Cor 2:10). But fear tells us to treat obedience like a research project instead of the next step. We tell ourselves we need more clarity when what we really need is to do the thing already resting in our heart.

This week, let’s not reach across the sea for what’s already nearby. We don’t need to ascend anywhere or prove anything. We must choose to obey what we know. Our Father delights when we step out in faith, for that’s where we see the Spirit’s miraculous power.

Do not fear, my friend. When we move, grace has a way of filling the gaps.

Closing Prayer

Father,

Thank You that Your word and Spirit are not far off;
it’s in my life, in my heart, already near.
Forgive me for stalling, for waiting on more
when You’ve already given me what I need for today.
Silence the voice that says I’m not enough,
that tells me the answer is always somewhere else.
Let rivers flow from what You’ve placed within me.
I choose to practice, not just to hear.
Multiply what I offer to You.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Praying with you,

Addison Bevere

P.S. If you’re new to these prayer guides and don’t have the Words with God book and/or 40-day Prayer Journal, those are great resources for living prayerfully. You can get them on Amazon, the Messenger Store, or wherever books are sold.