Be Obedient

By Gabe DeLaRosa

From the moment we started receiving guys on March 6, 2023 at the Bull Run Warrior Retreat in Haymarket, Virginia, the Warriors arriving had very little understanding of what it meant to be obedient. As the week unfolded with the classes they received and the breakouts they attended, some were hearing the gospel for the very first time, while others who might have heard the gospel before, but swayed off the path that God has laid out for us. Regardless, they all learned that “obedient” was misdefined in their lives. They understood obedient as a member of the military, obedient as a first responder, and obedient in basic things of man’s world. But now they heard about being obedient to God, and they had questions.

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The Gospel tells us many stories of what obedience to God looks like. We can also look in the book of Daniel as an example. He was persecuted by jealous satraps (governors of providence) and other high officials who did not like that Daniel was favored by King Darius and sought to purposely watch him fall. Daniel was not only obedient to God, but he was faithful as well. The satraps convinced King Darius to sign a decree and injunction that by the law of the Medes and the Persians he could not back out of once signed. As a result, Daniel would be found guilty of violating the injunction and would be sentenced to death by being thrown into the den of lions.

The Bible then tells us, “Then, at break of day, the king arose and went in haste to the den of lions. As he came near to the den where Daniel was, he cried out in a tone of anguish. The king declared to Daniel, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?” Then Daniel said to the king, “O king, live forever! My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths, and they have not harmed me, because I was found blameless before him; and also, before you, O king, I have done no harm”” (Daniel 6:19-).22

You see, Daniel was saved from being torn apart by the lions in the den because he was obedient, and he was faithful. When the men attending the Legacy session at Bull Run Warrior Retreat heard what it meant to be obedient and understood why we need the Gospel and need to have a relationship with God through Christ Jesus, they left the week with a new commitment or recommitment.

 

To learn more about Mighty Oaks and the programs we offer please visit: mightyoaksprograms.org/veteran-programs