When Obedience Is Hard: What Nathan Teaches Us About Following God | Psychology, Neuroscience & the Bible

Episode 25, Season 1

Show Notes

Most people remember David’s repentance after his sin with Bathsheba. Far fewer pause to consider the man who made that repentance possible.

Before David confessed, Nathan obeyed.

In this episode of The Christian Mind Reset, Dr. April Joy explores one of Scripture’s most overlooked examples of courageous obedience. Through the story of Nathan confronting King David in 2 Samuel 12, listeners will discover what it looks like to obey God when the outcome is uncertain, the cost feels high, and remaining silent would be far easier.

The episode examines the biblical meaning of obedience through the Hebrew word shāmaʿ, revealing that throughout Scripture, hearing God has always been inseparable from responding to Him. It also explores how Jesus fulfilled the Law, why obedience is the evidence of a transformed heart rather than a means of earning salvation, and how love, not legalism, has always been at the center of God’s commands.

Drawing from psychology and neuroscience, the episode explains why obedience can feel so difficult, how fear influences moral decision-making, and what research reveals about agency, cognitive control, and the courage to do what is right even when it comes at a personal cost.

Whether facing a difficult conversation, a call to speak truth with grace, or a season requiring costly faithfulness, this episode offers both biblical encouragement and practical insight for following God with courage and conviction.

In This Episode

* Nathan’s role in David’s repentance and why his obedience matters

* What the Hebrew word shāmaʿ teaches about hearing and obeying God

* Why biblical obedience is rooted in love rather than legalism

* How Jesus fulfilled the Law and summarized God’s commands

* The psychology and neuroscience of obedience, fear, and moral courage

* Practical encouragement for obeying God when obedience is costly

Scriptures Referenced

Genesis 26:5

Deuteronomy 6:4–5

2 Samuel 12

Psalm 51

Matthew 5:17–20

Matthew 7:24–27

Matthew 22:37–40

Luke 6:46–49

John 14:15

John 15:10

James 1:22

Ephesians 2:8–10

Connect with Dr. April Joy:

Connect with Dr. April Joy:

Substack: The Christian Mind Reset

If you liked today’s episode, please subscribe, leave a review, follow, like, or share. You can find me on Instagram at @thechristianpsychnp and also on Instagram and Substack at The Christian Mind Reset for more Scripture, neuroscience, and practical tips for renewing your mind.

Listen to The Christian Mind Reset on Apple, Spotify, and Substack.

My eBook, The Christian Mind Reset: A 28-Day Psalms Guide to Biblical Meditation, Neuroscience, and Renewing Your Mind, is available in my Stan Store at https://stan.store/thechristianpsychnp and on my Substack.

References

Bandura, A. (1999). Moral disengagement in the perpetration of inhumanities. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 3(3), 193–209. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327957PSPR0303_3

BibleProject. (n.d.). Shema (Hear). https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/shema-hear/

Bible Hub. (n.d.). Strong’s Hebrew 8085: Shamaʿ (שָׁמַע)—to hear, listen, obey. https://biblehub.com/hebrew/8085.htm

Blass, T. (1999). The Milgram paradigm after 35 years: Some things we now know about obedience to authority. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 29(5), 955–978. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.1999.tb00134.x

Brown, F., Driver, S. R., & Briggs, C. A. (1906). A Hebrew and English lexicon of the Old Testament. Clarendon Press. https://archive.org/details/hebrewenglishlex00browuoft

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. (2016). Crossway. (Original work published 2001)

Burger, J. M. (2009). Replicating Milgram: Would people still obey today? American Psychologist, 64(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0010932

Caspar, E. A., Christensen, J. F., Cleeremans, A., & Haggard, P. (2016). Coercion changes the sense of agency in the human brain. Current Biology, 26(5), 585–592. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2015.12.067

Caspar, E. A., Vuillaume, L., Magalhães De Saldanha da Gama, P. A., & Cleeremans, A. (2018). The influence of (dis)belief in free will on immoral behavior. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, Article 20. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00020

Caspar, E. A., et al. (2020). Coercion reduces the neural processing of victims’ pain. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 15(11), 1184–1194. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsaa148

Crone, E. A., & Steinbeis, N. (2017). Neural perspectives on cognitive control development during childhood and adolescence. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 21(3), 205–215. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2017.01.003

Haggard, P. (2017). Sense of agency in the human brain. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 18(4), 196–207. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn.2017.14

Haney, C., Banks, W. C., & Zimbardo, P. G. (1973). Interpersonal dynamics in a simulated prison. International Journal of Criminology and Penology, 1, 69–97.

Haslam, S. A., & Reicher, S. D. (2006). Rethinking the psychology of tyranny. Scientific American, 295(6), 68–73.

Hollander, M. M. (2015). The repertoire of resistance: Non-compliance with directives in Milgram’s “obedience” experiments. British Journal of Social Psychology, 54(3), 425–444. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12099 (PubMed)

Milgram, S. (1963). Behavioral study of obedience. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 67(4), 371–378. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0040525

Milgram, S. (1974). Obedience to authority: An experimental view. Harper & Row.

Packer, D. J. (2008). Identifying systematic disobedience in Milgram’s obedience experiments: A meta-analytic review. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 3(4), 301–304. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-6924.2008.00080.x (Association for Psychological Science)

Nye, C. (2017, September 9). What does the Hebrew term “Shema” mean? Medium. https://medium.com/@chrisnye/what-does-the-hebrew-term-shema-mean-6fd3a1e5eeb2

Seyll, L., et al. (2025). When the brain says “No!”: An MRI study on the neural correlates of resistance to immoral orders. Cortex. (PubMed)

Disclaimer: This podcast/letter is for informational purposes only. It contains general information, drawn from my experience, research, and best practices. It is not health care advice, and is not intended to replace the counsel of your health care provider. Consult your provider before starting any new treatments or making changes to your health routine. This message does not constitute a provider-patient relationship between us.

If you are experiencing significant anxiety, distress, or need support, please seek care from a qualified healthcare professional. You may also consider reaching out to a licensed Christian counselor or pastor for additional support.

Emails, portal messages, text messages, and other communications are not monitored and will not receive a response in an emergency or crisis, or regarding medical or therapy advice. These methods should never be used for medical advice, therapy, urgent, crisis, emergent, or time-sensitive concerns. If you are experiencing a medical or psychiatric emergency, are in crisis, have thoughts of harming yourself or others, or feel unsafe, call 911 (US), contact your local emergency services, or go to the nearest emergency room or hospital immediately.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thechristianmindreset.substack.com