Trust and obey
April 20, 2003 | 12:00am
"Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." – Hebrews 13:7,8
Why God chooses to use some ordinary individuals, and seemingly ignores those with far greater talents, defies human logic. The fact is that God often uses those who have little to recommend them when it comes to entitlement through education, family connections and intelligence. Yet the men and women who have made a mark for God do share important traits: 1) They immediately and without hesitation responded to the call of God in their lives; 2) Their simple faith in God was marked by complete obedience; and 3) What they had, they gave to the Lord completely and without reservation.
Such was a man who lived centuries ago whose name was Abraham. Called by God, he took his family and his possessions and set out on a long trek through the wilderness to a place that God had promised. An interesting comment found in the book of Hebrews says, "By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going" (Hebrews 11:8). Did you notice that last phrase "he did not know where he was going"?
Anytime someone steps out in faith to trust God, he is going to appear to be going nuts. Of course, he is out of step with the crowd. More than one person has been called a fool when he or she walked away from the comforts of life to follow the Almighty. When called a fool for what he was doing, Oswald Chambers responded, "I am not many kinds of fools in one; only one kind, the kind that believes and obeys God."
Have you learned that obedience does not require that you have the full knowledge of the game plan? It only requires that you have complete confidence in Him whom you are following. When you come to the place where you believe with all of your heart that God can be trusted, and when you make the commitment to trust Him and serve Him no matter how foolish it may look to others, you will surely hear from some who ridicule and try to make you feel stupid.
Faith demands commitment at the level of your heart, but obedience demands commitment at the level of your feet. You see, there are two parts to the issue of faith. The first is intellectual. It concerns what you believe. The second is trust, and that involves action. Of Abraham, the Bible says, "He obeyed...and he went."
For the child of God, obedience is not an option. It is a command, and when you are confronted with a command, you have two choices: To obey or to disobey. There is no third choice.
Abraham was not perfect, but he was obedient, and God rewarded that obedience in a great way. The same God will provide for you as you trust Him and walk in simple obedience.
Resource Reading: Hebrews 13:1-8
Why God chooses to use some ordinary individuals, and seemingly ignores those with far greater talents, defies human logic. The fact is that God often uses those who have little to recommend them when it comes to entitlement through education, family connections and intelligence. Yet the men and women who have made a mark for God do share important traits: 1) They immediately and without hesitation responded to the call of God in their lives; 2) Their simple faith in God was marked by complete obedience; and 3) What they had, they gave to the Lord completely and without reservation.
Such was a man who lived centuries ago whose name was Abraham. Called by God, he took his family and his possessions and set out on a long trek through the wilderness to a place that God had promised. An interesting comment found in the book of Hebrews says, "By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going" (Hebrews 11:8). Did you notice that last phrase "he did not know where he was going"?
Anytime someone steps out in faith to trust God, he is going to appear to be going nuts. Of course, he is out of step with the crowd. More than one person has been called a fool when he or she walked away from the comforts of life to follow the Almighty. When called a fool for what he was doing, Oswald Chambers responded, "I am not many kinds of fools in one; only one kind, the kind that believes and obeys God."
Have you learned that obedience does not require that you have the full knowledge of the game plan? It only requires that you have complete confidence in Him whom you are following. When you come to the place where you believe with all of your heart that God can be trusted, and when you make the commitment to trust Him and serve Him no matter how foolish it may look to others, you will surely hear from some who ridicule and try to make you feel stupid.
Faith demands commitment at the level of your heart, but obedience demands commitment at the level of your feet. You see, there are two parts to the issue of faith. The first is intellectual. It concerns what you believe. The second is trust, and that involves action. Of Abraham, the Bible says, "He obeyed...and he went."
For the child of God, obedience is not an option. It is a command, and when you are confronted with a command, you have two choices: To obey or to disobey. There is no third choice.
Abraham was not perfect, but he was obedient, and God rewarded that obedience in a great way. The same God will provide for you as you trust Him and walk in simple obedience.
Resource Reading: Hebrews 13:1-8
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