Why do you obey God?

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Why do you obey God? When I was little, I think I did it out of fear. Because in the times I was exposed to church, all I remembered was you're going to hell because this, this, this, this, this. So, come to God so he can save you. Now, for me personally, that didn't lead me to give my life to God, but I did obey the rules that people were telling me that God said I should follow out of fear of being punished. Then there was another season where I obeyed what people told me I should from God because they said if I did, God would answer all my prayers and give me all these things. But after living a little bit with that mindset, I learned that God didn't give me everything I wanted simply because I obeyed the things that people told me were from God. Have you ever thought about it? Why you obey God? Honestly, I didn't until a friend of mine said, "Did you know that it's okay to question what you believe?" This is where I realized I was doing it out of fear or I was doing it to get good things from God, but I never really reflected on it for myself. Why did I need to obey God? Then this friend started to teach me how to read the Bible for myself. So, I decided, "As I read the Bible, let me just test out some of these principles I'm being taught and see if it's real." For example, the Bible says, "Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God." Leading me to think, "Instead of doing what I wanted to do or what other people told me I should do, let me try to live out the way the Bible says and just see what happens." Like where the Bible says, "Be joyful in hope." Which I read it as, "Find joy in the things that could happen. They don't even have to happen yet, but the possibility of what God could do. Patient in affliction. Faithful in prayer." So, when I got sick, I took it to God and said, "Okay, maybe you want me to slow down. Help me learn what you're trying to teach me from this." And if something bad happened, God, what are you trying to teach me? How do you want me to handle this? And something interesting started to happen. As I started to obey the words of God, I started to realize how much he actually cares for me. So, let's think about this way. Yesterday, I took my 5-year-old to the doctor where I learned she had strep throat. So, when we get home, I pull out the medicine that is prescribed to heal her. Now, she doesn't want to take it, but in order for her to be healed, she must obey the word of her father to experience that healing. And when she does, she realizes by doing the thing, she not only gets healed, but learns that her father actually cares for her and wants to help her feel better. So, I've learned to obey God, not because of fear, not because of blessings, but because when I do, I learn how much he actually cares for me and has already prescribed tons of ways to make me feel better if I would just obey his words. For example, sin, the thing that separated us from God. The Bible says when we repent and turn away from that, believe what it says in here, that God came down as Jesus, lived a perfect life, died for our sins, and on the third day was raised from the dead, proving that he was actually God. When we choose to believe that in faith and proclaim that Jesus is Lord, obeying the words in the scripture, the Bible says we will be saved. And ever since doing that, I've never felt more cared for by God. That's why the Bible says for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. He did it and gave us these words to obey because he cares for us. Now, my reason's not going to be everybody's reason, but I would love to know for you, why do you obey God? I'm praying for you today, friends. God bless.