Obedience will get you everywhere you really want to be. If you aren't happy with where you are in your life with God, think about the last time you obeyed Him. What have you left undone? Did He tell you to forgive your neighbor and you said: Thank you for telling me, but I think I will hang on to this resentment and talk about her instead?
If you are not where you want to be spiritually, I have some simple advice for you. Don't open another book; don't listen to ten sermons today; just obey what you already know. Obedience is the key to happiness. John Eudes said, True obedience is not possible without intimacy. If you are having trouble wanting to obey God, it could be because you don't really know Him. You don't know that He would never ask you to do something that would bring you harm. He is always for you. We are so misguided as to God’s truest intentions.
Psalm 84:11 says, For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless. God isn't holding out on you. He wants to give you honor, favor and good things. It’s disobedience that will keep you from enjoying the goodness God offers you.
Obedience involves two other realities that our sinful hearts resist: submission and self-denial. Self-sacrifice, humility—all of these words—fight against our flesh. We automatically pursue our own interests, our own thoughts, and that is exactly what keeps us where we are and where we don't want to be.
Beth Moore told the cute story about the nightly conversation between her son-in-law and her then two-and-half year old grandson. Her son-in-law
tucks his son in every night with these words, I'm proud to be your father. I think you have everything you need to be a great man and I love you. To which his son replies, I want juice! What a picture of us with God. God, our heavenly Father, is looking down on us and sharing His unaltered dreams for us made assessable through our obedience. He offers us everything our spiritual souls really long for, but we miss out on the meaning because we want what we want. God doesn't ask us to obey, deny ourselves, and trust in His goodness because He wants to hurt us in any way. Obedience is the key to fully accepting how proud He is of you, how much He believes in you, and how much He loves you.
When have you last obeyed God? Did it get you everywhere? Am I right here? When were you last self-sacrificing? What was the result in your relationship with God? Did you feel His pleasure in you? Did you find what your soul longs for?