Obedience Training
When we’re training our puppies, we use treats to encourage obedience. I know—there are plenty of modern training philosophies that avoid “bribing” with rewards—but this is what works in our home. Our pups sit, lie down, stop barking, or do their business outside, and a treat follows. Eventually they’ll obey without the promise of one… though you can tell they still hope a reward might appear.
It makes me wonder: when we obey God, do we expect a reward too?
Obedience for Blessings
God has promised blessings in His Word, but sometimes His idea of blessing and ours look very different.
A friend recently reminded me of a quote attributed to Mother Teresa:
“God calls us to obedience, not success.”
Because we’re conditioned to expect a treat for good behavior, we often assume that obedience to God will result in visible success. After all, Scripture speaks of blessing:
Deuteronomy 28:1–2
“If you fully obey the Lord your God… all these blessings will come on you and accompany you.”
James 1:25
“…the one who continues in it… not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.”
Yet God’s blessings don’t always resemble what the world calls success.
When Obedience looks like Loss
We naturally measure honor by achievement, recognition, results, and applause. But obedience to God sometimes looks, from the outside, like loss. What if His greatest blessings arrive in forms we would never choose? What if obedience feels like defeat?
When an athlete scores the winning touchdown or hits the game-winning home run, we often see them point upward, giving glory to God. Winning is easy to dedicate to Him. But what about losing? Why don’t we give God glory for the disappointments, the setbacks, the doors that close?
That thought brings to mind a favorite illustration from A Knight’s Tale.
William: I will not lose.
Jocelyn: Then you do not love me.
In the film, William Thatcher is an undefeated jouster, winning honor, fame, and admiration. He pledges his victories to Jocelyn, the woman he loves. But she tells him his victories honor only himself. If he truly wishes to show his love, he must lose. He must willingly endure pain, humiliation, and the boos of the crowd. He must take the hit and fall from the horse—intentionally. His loss will appear foolish to everyone else, but it will prove his love to her.
It’s an unusual request, but the message lands:
His love mattered more than his win.
And so it is with God.
God desires our obedience, not our success.
God requires Obedience
In God’s economy, a surrendered loss may honor Him more than a celebrated victory.
1 Samuel 15:22
“To obey is better than sacrifice…”
Galatians 1:10
“If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.”
Seventy years ago, Jim Elliot and four companions were killed while obeying God’s call to bring the gospel to the Auca people. The world saw failure. God saw faithfulness.
Later, Jim’s wife Elisabeth and their young daughter returned to live among the very tribe that had killed him. Years of quiet obedience followed—learning language, building trust, showing Christ’s love—long before any visible fruit appeared. Their story reminds us:
The will of God is not something we add to our lives.
It is the course we choose.
So if our goal is obedience, why do we demand success? Why do we feel disappointed when God’s path doesn’t deliver the reward we imagined?
God wants YOUR Obedience
Where are you obeying today without applause?
Are you taking care of your home and children every day with no appreciation?
Working faithfully in a job that brings no recognition?
Serving quietly in your church, unseen and uncelebrated?
Choosing integrity when compromise would be easier?
Where might God be asking you to obey—even if it feels like losing?
1 Corinthians 4:2
“Those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.”
Matthew 6:1–4 reminds us that the Father sees what is done in secret—and He rewards accordingly.
Success is loud.
Obedience is quiet.
But God hears it clearly.
