“It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going.” (Hebrews 11:8 NLT)
In Matthew 21:28-32 Jesus tells the story of two sons, both of whom the father asked to work in his vineyard. The older son said “no,” but later went and worked in the vineyard, while the younger son said “yes,” but never went. Then Jesus asked: “Which of the two obeyed his father?” What’s the point?
Obedience isn’t necessarily contingent upon agreeing to do or not do something. Obedience is the result of doing what we’re told to do whether we agreed to do it or not. Agreeing to do something and doing it are two very different things. It’s what Ron Hutchcraft refers to as “go-bedience!”
Abraham isn’t the father of our faith simply because he agreed to go to a land that God would give him. He was proven faithful because he obeyed without question and without delay, even when he didn’t know where he was going. He didn’t just agree, he obeyed.
So, the question then becomes: “What has the Lord instructed you to do?” And if you say, “nothing,” either you’re not reading His Word, the Bible, or you’re not listening to what you’re reading. God’s Word is filled with commands, many of which are given for our protection from the evil one. For example, in James 4:7-9 we find these commands: “humble yourselves…Resist the devil…Come close to God…Wash your hands…purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world…Let there be tears…let there be sorrow and deep grief…let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy.”
We read verses like these and rarely, if ever, see them as directed to ourselves. What a shame! The Bible was written to you and me, not simply to its original audiences. Until we hear words like these for ourselves, seeing them and hearing them as avenues of correction for us, they’re just words on a page. The only appropriate response to God’s directives is “Yes, Father!” Then set in motion a plan to carry out whatever He’s telling you to do.
There’s no such thing as passive obedience, only active surrender to His Spirit’s leadership. Ron Hutchcraft wrote: “Maybe your Lord’s asking you to start something, or to leave something or someone, or maybe to stop doing something, or to confront something, or give something, or tell someone about the Savior who died for them. And faith obedience steps out, not because you know where or you know how, but because you know Who. You know Who you are following. You’re following an all-powerful Lord who will never do you wrong! Would anyone who loved you enough to die for you ever do you wrong? It’s one thing to agree with what your Father wants you to do. It’s a whole other thing to start doing it. Until you do, you’re just disobeying your Father. The old song is right. ‘Trust and obey for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey.’”
Abraham didn’t know his destination until after he began his journey. That’s true for us as well. If the Lord mapped out every step before we took the first one, there likely wouldn’t ever be a first step for us. Faith is built in the journey, not in the reading or the listening or the dreaming.
Just as Abraham didn’t always get it right, we’ll fall short in our efforts, but the beauty of Abraham’s faith is he didn’t let anything stop him until the journey was complete. The formula that works best for me is simply to do what I’m told and leave the results to the Lord. Our obedience isn’t in the outcomes, but in the intentional and deliberate steps of obedience.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 