Obeying God and Believing Promises

"By the discipline of obedience I get to the place where Abraham was and I see Who God is. I never have a real God until I have come face to face with Him in Jesus Christ, then I know that "in all the world, my God, there is none but Thee, there is none but Thee." The promises of God are of no value to us until by obedience we understand the nature of God. We read some things in the Bible three hundred and sixty-five times and they mean nothing to us, then all of a sudden we see what God means, because in some particular we have obeyed God, and instantly His nature is opened up. "All the promises of God in Him are yea, and in Him Amen." The "yea" must be born of obedience; when by the obedience of our lives we say "Amen" to a promise, then that promise is ours. " - Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, 17 November





The line that catches me above is bolded. Can it really be that simple? Surely, every student of the Bible has had that moment where all of a sudden something jumps out at you, makes sense in a way that it never has before - but I don't know that I've ever made a connection between my obedience and making the connection with God's spirit.

But why should that surprise me? God predicates rewards based on obedience - from salvation (being obedient and believing that His Son is the only means of salvation) to wisdom and knowledge ("The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction" - Proverbs 1:7). God's riches, both physical and spiritual, can only flow when we are obedient to His will.

If that is the case, why don't I seek to be obedient more? You'd think if this was really understood that obeying God according to His word (not what we think His word says) resulted in His nature opening up to us (Imagine - in some way knowing the nature of God!), then we as individuals and a church would be bursting down the doors to hear His Word preached, and neglecting all things worldly and crass to spend more time in His Word.

But for me, isn't that rooted in the less than total belief that keeps His promises? I think I've told the story here of putting in 20 hour days to get a facility online, only to be rewarded with praises and little else. Sadly, in so many ways I've come to expect that people won't keep their promises. Maybe I think God won't either - but is that really because God isn't faithful, or because I don't really take him at His word and seek true, heartfelt obedience?

What would my life look like if I did?