In the prophecy God gave to Isaiah, He put a condition on the blessing He promised.

“If you are willing and obedient, then your crops will do well and you will eat your fill.”

Isaiah’s listeners knew that their actions had consequences.

Every action comes with its own set of consequences… including obedience. The consequences of children obeying their parents are usually privileges, praise, and sometimes special rewards. The privileges of obedience to God are His blessings.

In both instances, it’s not a matter of whether love is present. A parent can’t help but love their children just like God can’t not love us. It’s as natural as breathing. But just as parents don’t reward their children for making poor choices, for bad behavior or disobedience, God, who is our Heavenly Parent, won’t bless us when we do those same things.

God is the God of love — real love — the kind of love that always has our best interests at heart. If that means making us suffer the consequences of our actions instead of feeding us a steady diet of ‘good stuff,’ then that’s what He does. So yes, it really is a matter of consequences: If you obey, then you will be blessed.