Following His ways
Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever! ~ Deuteronomy 5:29
Have you ever wondered why following God sometimes feels challenging, even when you know His ways are good? Today’s scripture reading reminds us that God’s commands were never meant to be burdensome rules, but loving boundaries designed to lead His people into life, freedom, and blessing. In today’s world, where truth often feels subjective and boundaries are resisted, this chapter shows us that following God’s ways is an act of love and trust. When you realize that your heavenly Father always has your best interests at heart and has intentionally designed a life for you that is good and filled with His blessings, your desire shifts. You begin to want to follow His leading and order your life according to His ways, because you trust that He is guiding you toward the fullness and goodness He has prepared for you.
Below are three key points to take away from Deuteronomy 5:
1. God’s commands flow from your relationship with Him
God gave the commandments after rescuing Israel from slavery. Obedience was a response to relationship, not a requirement to earn His love. The same is true today. God wants His people to follow Him because He cares deeply about their lives and futures and wants to keep them away from the destructive ways of His enemy.
When reading Scripture or sensing God’s instruction, remind yourself that His guidance flows from love, not control. Start each day by thanking Him for Who He is before focusing on what He asks you to do.
2. Obedience Leads to Life and Peace
God repeatedly told His people that walking in His ways leads to life and blessing. His commands protect hearts, relationships, and purpose. When we as God’s people today choose obedience, even when it feels costly, they step into peace that the world cannot offer.
Identify one area where God’s Word speaks clearly, such as forgiveness, integrity, or rest. Choose to obey Him in that specific area and trust that His way will produce peace and freedom over time.
3. God Desires a Willing Heart
This chapter also reveals God’s desire for hearts that want to follow Him, not hearts driven by fear alone. He longs for willing obedience that flows from trust and reverence. A willing heart stays tender and open to His voice.
Ask God to soften your heart toward His instructions. When resistance or hesitation comes, bring it honestly to Him in prayer and invite Him to shape your desires so they line up with His purposes.
There was a time in my life when I did not move forward in obedience because I wanted to do things my own way. That way of thinking led to many wrong choices. Even when I knew God was asking me to trust Him more deeply, fear of not getting the results I wanted kept me from following Him. When I finally realized the mess I had made of my life, I surrendered it all to Him and asked for His help to get me off a path of destruction and onto the way of His purpose. As I chose to obey what I already knew from His Word, even when I did not have all the answers, peace began to replace fear. My Father showed me that following Him was not about forcing me to do something I did not want to do, but about trusting His deep love for me. On the other side of that step, I experienced blessings and clarity that I could never have produced on my own.
Today I want to encourage you to trust the heart behind God’s commands and choose obedience from a place of love and faith. His ways lead to life, peace, and a future filled with purpose, not only for you, but for those who come after you.
Today’s scripture reading: Deuteronomy 5
1 And Moses called all Israel, and said to them: “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your hearing today, that you may learn them and be careful to observe them.
2 The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb.
3 The Lord did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, those who are here today, all of us who are alive.
4 The Lord talked with you face to face on the mountain from the midst of the fire.
5 I stood between the Lord and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the Lord; for you were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up the mountain. He said:
6 ‘I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
7 ‘You shall have no other gods before Me.
8 ‘You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;
9 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,
10 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
11 ‘You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.
12 ‘Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you.
13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
14 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you.
15 And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.
16 ‘Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may be well with you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
17 ‘You shall not murder.
18 ‘You shall not commit adultery.
19 ‘You shall not steal.
20 ‘You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
21 ‘You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife; and you shall not desire your neighbor’s house, his field, his male servant, his female servant, his ox, his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.’
22 “These words the Lord spoke to all your assembly, in the mountain from the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, with a loud voice; and He added no more. And He wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me.
23 “So it was, when you heard the voice from the midst of the darkness, while the mountain was burning with fire, that you came near to me, all the heads of your tribes and your elders.
24 And you said: ‘Surely the Lord our God has shown us His glory and His greatness, and we have heard His voice from the midst of the fire. We have seen this day that God speaks with man; yet he still lives.
25 Now therefore, why should we die? For this great fire will consume us; if we hear the voice of the Lord our God anymore, then we shall die.
26 For who is there of all flesh who has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived?
27 You go near and hear all that the Lord our God may say, and tell us all that the Lord our God says to you, and we will hear and do it.’
28 “Then the Lord heard the voice of your words when you spoke to me, and the Lord said to me: ‘I have heard the voice of the words of this people which they have spoken to you. They are right in all that they have spoken.
29 Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever!
30 Go and say to them, “Return to your tents.”
31 But as for you, stand here by Me, and I will speak to you all the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments which you shall teach them, that they may observe them in the land which I am giving them to possess.’
32 “Therefore you shall be careful to do as the Lord your God has commanded you; you shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.
33 You shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live and that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you shall possess.
Journal:
- Where might God be inviting me to trust His instructions more fully
- Is there an area of obedience I have been hesitant to walk out, and why
- How can I remind myself that God’s commands flow from His love for me
The Daily Dose 