Trust and Obey
Trust and Obey
I wish I had a nickel for every time I have sung the song “Trust and Obey”. Do you remember that hymn? If you grew up in church I bet you know every single word of the song. Sing the chorus with me…”Trust and obey – for there’s no other way – to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.” It brings back visions of the sanctuary and the church pews, the minister of music in his too tight suit that he should have left unbuttoned and the crackle of the voice of the sweet elderly woman who sat behind me.
Do you remember the day YOU decided to trust and obey? What an experience! We understood our need for Jesus. We vowed to give up living life our way. We repented and asked for His forgiveness and amazing grace. We asked Him to come into our life – to be our Savior. Oh. What. A. Joyous. Day!
We sing this song, “trust and obey…”. The words are so simple and easy to understand. We proclaim it with our mouth. Yet – if we are to be honest with ourselves – we realize our two biggest struggles are to trust and to obey. Right?
Do we trust Jesus? Do we really trust Him? Are we willing to follow Him wherever He leads? Or do we trust in ourselves – our decision making – our own reasoning skills? Yuck! Who wants to answer that question? Let’s do this! Let’s choose to place our trust in the One who is truly trustworthy! He will never fail us. He will never forsake us. He will carry us through and take us where we need to go. His way is the BEST way. “Lord, please help us to trust you more with our day, with our relationships, with our family, with our marriage, with our work, with our struggle, with our service, with our life. Help us to claim Proverbs 3:5-6:
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”
Can we claim that today? Can we stand up and proclaim, “I will trust in You, Lord. With all my heart, I will trust YOU! I will stop depending on me and totally depend on You! I will spend time with You. I will get to know You better – deeper. I will wait on You to direct me – to smooth out the path before me.”
But there’s more…you know what is next, don’t you? The rest of the phrase is the really hard part. Obey. Are we walking in obedience? Are we just like a defiant toddler who proclaims, “No!” over and over again? Or are we simply choosing to not say, “Yes”? When we ignore, get distracted or pretend we don’t know better – yea, those are all acts of disobedience. Wow! Is that where we are? Is that what we have become? Are we disobedient? Although it is not fun to ponder - I think it would be best if we did.
“Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him.” And does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.” I John 2:3-6
Whew!So, the apostle John is breaking it down for us.He wants us to get over our arrogance and just be honest with ourselves.We have trusted in Jesus – but we don’t know Him if we are not walking in obedience.To know Him – to have an intimate relationship with Him - we must first know His word and live it out in our daily life.We can’t say we know Him if we are still living in disobedience to Him.But the good news is…He is a God of grace and forgiveness! YAY! Today is a great day to choose obedience. We can begin allowing His truth to become the controlling influence in our life. The more time we spend with Him and in His word – the more we will come to know Him. It is only through this intimacy that we will become perfected – mature and complete – in Him. Then, and only then, can we walk just as He walked. Join me in praying, “Oh Heavenly Father – please forgive me for my disobedience. Help me to make time for You. I want to know you more. I want to live every day walking in obedience to you. I desire to obey you. I want to find joy in following after You.”
Today, that old hymn I have sung so many times, has taken on more meaning than ever before. I keep it in my heart and on my lips so that I might never forget...“Trust and obey… for there’s no other way…to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey.” And all God’s people said…
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