As one who would disobey from time to time in my youth, I learned there were consequences, often painful ones, for disobeying. It took time, but I tended to learn that pain would occur when I disobeyed and through that I figured out that I could avoid pain by doing what I was told. Even if *obeying* wasn't what I wanted to do, I could avoid pain by doing so, so I obeyed. At some point I even got to the point where I *wanted* to obey because it made my parents happy. Not just following the letter, but the spirit of their rules. 

I admire God's patience with me over the years as I think I've done more to be disobedient then I ever did to my parents. Maybe not *dis*obedient, but not necessarily obedient. Through that I know I've experienced more pain than I needed to, often because of consequences of not following in God's footsteps. One of the most difficult things can be following even when you can't see where it's going. What's the reason for the trials and pain? I don't get it, so I'm going my own way!

Surprise, surprise, there's just more pain that way, but sometimes we need to take it to remember that even if we don't agree with God's methods, He's still a much gentler teacher than the world can be. The School of Hard Knocks can leave you in a pigpen with no inheritance. However, God is good and will always hug us, clean us off, and throw us a feast when we come back. How much simpler and more joyous would things be if we could just "trust and obey" without having to go through the pigpen?