Today’s devotional is by Tom Holladay, teaching pastor at Saddleback Church.

This week, as we think about obedience and how to live it out, I want to look at five actions Joseph took that showed his obedience to God.

When the angel appeared to Joseph in a dream, he told Joseph, “Do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:20b NIV). So that’s what Joseph did: “When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife” (Matthew 1:24 NIV). He didn’t hesitate. He just did it!

There is a refreshing immediacy to Joseph’s relationship with God. When God said it, Joseph did it.

If you believe God loves you and you want to live a life of obedience in response to his love, then this how you should respond. Living in immediate obedience to God is a kind of life that breathes with excitement and joy.

I’ve had the opportunity to meet a lot of great men and women of faith from around the world. They are all different from each other, but they all have one thing in common: When they sense God saying to do something, they don’t hesitate. They step out and do it.

The Bible says in 1 John 5:3, “This is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome” (NIV). So if something God asks you to do feels like a burden, what’s wrong? Usually it’s procrastination. When we don’t act right away, it becomes harder to do the longer we wait. But when we do what God says, the most refreshing freedom will come into our lives.