If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God. --Deuteronomy 28:1-2

Several years ago, the Houston Chronicle published a tragic story that happened at Yosemite National Park. On October 22, 1999, sixty-year-old Jan Davis and four other parachutists banded together to protest a law. The law banned the extreme sport of parachuting off the top of the 3,200-foot El Capitan. Obviously, it was too dangerous to allow.

The protest Davis and the others participated in was created to show that the jumps could be executed safely. The first three protestors completed their jumps successfully and floated safely to the ground. Davis, an experienced paratrooper with 70 similar jumps and 3,000 sky dives under her belt, was the last to go, but her parachute never opened. 

Despite her experience, she didn’t escape death. She didn’t adhere to the warnings of the law. As Christians, we often react to the laws of God the same way these protestors approached the government’s law. God set apart certain guidelines and rules in His Word to protect us and lead us in the right direction, but we consistently protest them by trying to prove we can safely navigate through life on our own.

Unfortunately for believers, it is more often than not in the midst of our protests against His law that we discover the harsh truth in a way that might have been easier. If only we would just listen to the crystal clear voice of the Holy Spirit when making decisions and taking steps through life, we could avoid potential danger. By breaking the laws of God, it is inevitable we will either cause harm or ultimately destroy ourselves in the process.

PRAYER CHALLENGE: Pray for strength as you seek to obey God’s laws. Daily put into practice the guidelines He has laid out in His Word and you’ll be surprised how generously He will reward you for your obedience.

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