Is obedience an irritant?

When obedience ceases to be an irritant and becomes our quest, in that moment God will endow us with power. (Ezra Taft Benson)

We cannot expect to ignore God's instruction forever and not see some form of chaos in our world. God gives grace, time to turn to him, but he won't be mocked. We cannot live like we want, then expect all of God's blessings to be in our lives. Theodore Roosevelt reminded us, "Obedience of the law is demanded; not asked as a favor." 

Take hold of my instructions; don’t let them go. Guard them, for they are the key to life. (Proverbs 4:13)

We lack so much power in our lives all because we seek to do things our own way. We find our greatest strength and power when we apply God's instructions to our lives. If we ignore those instructions for way too long, the path we have committed ourselves to will be filled with chaos, angst, and quite unfulfilling endeavors. 

Take hold of his instructions - this doesn't imply that someone else is to tell you what God says. It indicates we are to find the time and give the energies of our life toward finding those truths for ourselves. We have become a culture that believes what we see or hear without really testing it to see if it is true, therefore giving ourselves over to all manner of deception. Deception really isn't all that hard to combat when we know the truth!

If someone were to give you the keys to their house, telling you that you could use it at any time, enjoy all that is within those walls, and never have to leave that sanctuary, would you just pocket the keys and forget about all that had been provided? So many do just that when they turn away from the truth God has revealed within scripture. He has given us the keys to overcome all manner of temptation and deception, but unless we actually take the keys out of our pocket and use them, what benefit will those instructions provide? Just askin....