Trust and Obey
Obedience isn’t a very popular word these days. However, it is so vital in our Christian walk and I believe essential for long term fruitfulness in our lives. As a (much) younger man, we sang a hymn in church by the same title as this article. “Trust and obey, for there’s no other way, to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.”
Obedience is something with which mankind has struggled right from the very beginning of creation. Adam and Eve were given everything to enjoy in the Garden of Eden and there was only one tree in this vast paradise they weren’t to touch. Yet they were unable to obey and we still live with the consequences.
We read in Scripture ‘partial’ obedience is not obedience at all. 1 Sam 15 tells the story of King Saul’s failure to obey the Lord’s commands. He had been told to wipe out the enemy, the Amalekites, but Saul thought it best to keep their king and a few of their choice animals. He further thought it best to offer the sacrifice to the Lord in his impatience in waiting for the prophet Samuel to arrive (who was the only one authorised to do so). On his arrival Samuel said to Saul ‘what have you done and what is that I hear?’ (the bleating of sheep, and the lowing of the oxen). Samuel speaks those famous words to Saul “to obey is better than sacrifice” (1 Sam 15:22). Saul thought his definition of obedience, which in today’s language would be ‘near enough is good enough’ was adequate. However, we see from his actions the Lord rejected him as king and from this point onwards, his reign came to an end.
Sometimes the Lord asks us to do things which simply don’t make any sense to us. Obedience though is what is required. Jesus only did what He saw the Father doing and only said what He heard the Father saying. Why else would He make mud and put it on a blind man’s eyes? (John 9:6). The disciples obeyed Him when He told them to have the multitude sit in groups of 50 prior to multiplying 5 loaves and 2 small fish which fed the entire crowd with 12 basketfuls of leftovers. (Luke 9:14). This surely made no sense to the disciples but for the miracle to happen they had to obey.
Jesus didn’t have a ‘near enough is good enough’ approach to His ministry. He was obedient even to death on the Cross. The Bible declares “…He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” (Phil 2:8). That is radical obedience!
After His resurrection, some of the remaining disciples were out fishing, having returned to what they knew best. They’d been fishing all night and caught nothing. Jesus called to them from the shore and asked if they’d caught anything to which they replied “No”. He told them to cast their net on the other side and the catch was so great they couldn’t pull it into the boat. This was the second of two miraculous hauls of fish brought about through obedience!
It's a simple but profound concept – If you want His (Jesus) results you have to do it His way. I read this quote by Randy Clark recently. “My obedience is not conditional on my ability to understand but rather on my willingness to obey.” (The Healing Breakthrough p191).
In praying for the ill and injured there are many mysteries some of which may not be fully understood this side of eternity but if we waited until we have full understanding of why this one is healed and another is not, we would never step out in faith and minister healing to anyone.
Moses was obedient when he struck the rock with a piece of wood and out gushed water to refresh the grumbling Israelites. He was obedient when He reached the Red Sea and was told to “lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel will go on dry ground through the midst of the sea” (Ex 14:16 NKJV). This would have made no sense whatsoever to Moses with the Egyptian army bearing down on them. Notice the Lord didn’t say to him “I will part the sea for you.” He told Moses to divide the sea – something which Moses had clearly never done before!
We could look at Abraham, Joseph, Gideon, Daniel, Isaiah and many other heroes of the faith and see time and again where obedience brought either breakthrough, a miracle, victory, abundant provision and so on.
Many times in the Healing Rooms, we have seen people healed when we simply obey that which the Holy Spirit is telling us to do – even though on several occasions it may seem more than a little ‘unusual’. If it was good enough for Jesus, then it’s good enough for us! I remember witnessing a young girl in India delivered of a demon when a visiting Pastor, following a prompting of the Holy Spirit, in obedience placed his Bible (the sword of the Spirit) on her head. The girl, who had been screaming violently, with several other Pastors yelling at the demon in a failed attempt to cast it out, which only made things worse and brought more shame and embarrassment to this poor child, was completely calm and in her right mind in about 10-20 seconds.
So let me encourage you to ask the Father what to do in each and every situation in which you find yourself and then step out in obedience and watch heaven come to earth in a powerful way.
Trust and obey for there’s no other way…