Editor’s Note: This devotion was written by Dianna Hobbs and used by permission from her ‘Your Daily Cup of Inspiration’ blog. To read more encouragement like this, visit YourDailyCupOfInspiration.com.

God still speaks to this day. I know this to be true on a personal and intimate level. He regularly speaks to me through my dreams and while I am awake, too.

God has notified me of the coming deaths of loved ones, bouts of sickness I would face, things that were happening with my family members and friends, and events to come in the world and the church.

The earliest memories I have of hearing God’s voice are from my teen years. At first, like Samuel in 1 Samuel 3, I didn’t understand what was happening and did not know what to make of the messages. So, I would go to my earthly father and ask for his guidance and help. As the Lord led Dad, he would interpret dreams and give me further clarity about what God was saying.

Now that I am older and have deepened my relationship with God, by His grace, I understand the messages He gives to me, and I am beyond thankful and humbled.

With the passage of time, I have reached new levels of spiritual maturity, where I am able to now grasp the supreme importance of listening to and obeying the Lord’s voice—even when His commands don’t make much sense. There is always something good that comes from obedience. You can avoid pitfalls, be prepared for life transitions, and be positioned for breakthroughs.

Listening and obeying are the keys.

We have a great example of this truth in Scripture. In John 2:1-12, Jesus gave His servants a command that on the surface made no sense at all. This biblical account takes place at a wedding in the village of Cana in Galilee that Jesus, His mother Mary, and His disciples were invited to attend. While there, the wine ran out, and Mary turned to Jesus to rectify the problem. She believed He could fix the issue, and she was right.

In verse 5, Mary told the servants how to respond to her son by giving a very simple and direct order: “Do whatever he tells you.”

After that, Jesus told the servants to fill up these huge stone jars that could hold 20-30 gallons of liquid with water. And they obeyed, filling them to the brim. Then Jesus then told them to draw out some of the water and take it to the master of the banquet.

Let’s pause here briefly, shall we? When I read those head-scratching instructions that Jesus gave to the servants, I honestly thought to myself, what an unusual request. That doesn’t make any sense!

And I imagine, though I cannot be sure, that the servants were probably thinking the same thing. From the looks of it, Jesus was telling them to take plain water to the master of the house as a substitute for wine. Those instructions seemed to be nothing more than a recipe to insult and frustrate the master of the house. But, Jesus, the Master of all things, had an undisclosed plan!

For me, it is fascinating to see how these servants did not question Jesus’ orders. They did not oppose His directives. They gave no pushback or backtalk. They did not try to reason with Him or talk some sense into Jesus. They did not tell the savior that what He said to do was nonsensical.

Nope.

They were just obedient and did exactly what Jesus told them to do.

And friend, somewhere between their act of obedience and the master tasting the water, it turned into the best wine he had ever sampled (v. 9)!

Now, I need you to get this. The miracle happened as the servants were on their way to do what the Lord said do. Scripture does not indicate in any way that the servants were privy to Jesus’ plans, or that a noticeable shift took place before the master sipped the water. They were just obedient, and at some point, right on time, Jesus flipped the circumstances in their favor.

My God. Won’t He do it?

Friend, there is a blessing in obedience. You experience miracles when you obey God despite not knowing what He’s doing. You receive unexpected blessings and breakthroughs when You humbly follow His word and confidently place your trust in Him.

This year, God wants you to approach His word with faith. Obey what He says. Do whatever God tells you. If it doesn’t make sense, do it anyway. When your emotions conjure up fear, worry, and anxiety, do it anyway. When your mind tells you that the promises of God are illogical and unlikely to happen, believe anyway.

And watch what happens. Somewhere between your obedience and your point of need, the miraculous will manifest. God will do the impossible according to His will. He will amaze you, just as the Lord amazed the master of the house with that delicious wine. When he tasted it, he said in verse 10, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”

If you want to experience God’s best, just believe and obey, and you will see Him do the miraculous for you!

That’s what I did in 2019 when I was fresh out of the ICU and paralyzed on my left side. I needed God to restore my mobility, my speech, and my brain function. Though I was going through a tough ordeal, I remembered that God’s word says He is Jehovah Rapha, the Lord who heals. I recalled the stories in Scripture where Jesus made the lame walk again.  I also knew that Scripture instructs us to walk by faith and not by sight.

I took that literally.

So, by faith, I defied what I saw and felt, and I got up with help from my family members that were visiting me. But something happened between my act of obedience to Scripture and me commanding my family to let me go unassisted with no evidence that I would be able to walk. Instead of me hitting the floor, the power of God hit my body and miraculously restored my mobility instantly. He reversed the paralysis, and doctors are still amazed to this day.

What a mighty God we serve!

In the beginning of the year, God told me to sow a First Fruits seed and to encourage others to do the same. He promised that if we did it in faith, we would reap a harvest. So, I sowed, and many others have been sowing, too. You still have the opportunity to get in on this act of obedience to set the tone for your year; I believe God will show up in a mighty way.

All my life, I have been a faith-walker, and I have experienced miracles, signs, and wonders because of it. I do whatever God tells me to do, and it has produced the most incredible results in my life.

In 2022, I want you to trust God on a whole new level. Will you do that with me?

Today, God told me to stir 2 Corinthians 5:7 NIV into your cup of inspiration, which says, “For we live by faith, not by sight.”

As you drink down the contents of your cup, know that if you dare to walk by faith, you will walk straight into a miracle. Obedience produces results!

Dianna Hobbs is founder of EEW Magazine Online and CEO of Empowering Everyday Women Ministries — a 501c3 nonprofit organization that shares the gospel and provides humanitarian aid to the hurting. She is also the writer of Your Daily Cup of Inspiration and executive producer of the companion podcast. Follow Dianna on social media: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube. Sign up for her free ministry newsletter here.