Followby Brian Waple
“Trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.”
John Henry Sammis (1887)
By the very sound of the word, obey has negative connotations. It’s as though in certain situations we’re being told we have to suspend our free will and submit to a power over which we have no control. You have to do as you’ve been told. Growing up, you obey your parents. You have to pay your taxes. I remember in Air Force Basic Training, you had to obey the Military Training Instructors. Throughout my Air Force career, there were regulations and orders that I had to obey. It wasn’t something I enjoyed, but I knew that in the long run, obeying the regulations and the orders of those appointed over me ensured the success of a mission and maintained a necessary degree of order and discipline.
Then there’s the word trust. Now that’s a word I can embrace, but it’s a lot harder to always see the outcome that you’re expecting. You trust the sun will come up in the morning (except in the Pacific Northwest). You trust that if you do the right thing, a good outcome will result. And doesn’t God tell us to trust in Him? On our money, it says “In God We Trust,” right?
Many years ago, while serving in the Air Force, our family was living in Naples, Italy. One of our sons got into some trouble at school . . . serious trouble. So serious that there was a good chance he would be sent back to the United States. We felt that the best course of action would be for him to obey the school superiors and tell the truth as to what happened. I trusted in God’s sovereignty and my sense of fair play, believing that by obeying the school and military officials and telling the truth, our son would be shown leniency. Our son told the truth . . . and he was sent back to the United States (actually, it was our decision, as the military officials would have made it difficult for him to stay). I was devastated and confused. Doesn’t God tell us to trust in Him? And doesn’t He say that He wants only the best for us? How is our son being sent back to the United States the best for him and our family? (As I write this, it takes me back to a not-so-happy time.)
I struggled with this for a while, but I came to see that obeying God and trusting in His Word isn’t always easy. As Pastor Steve was saying Sunday, “Being a Christian doesn’t mean you won’t have problems . . . in fact, you may have more.” Your prayers won’t always be answered the way you want them answered. Healings won’t always take place. You will lose. You will be hurt. And you could even be separated from your kids. But, by obeying Him and trusting in Him, through faith, you can believe that even though you may not see it at the time, God is working.
Trusting and obeying God doesn’t mean we’ll always be happy. But it brings us comfort knowing that even in the darkest of nights, morning is coming. And as we trust that the sun will rise, trusting in Him also means that we have the assurance that God is in control.
Are there any areas where you have difficulty trusting and obeying God’s call on your life? Where do you sense God is working in these situations?
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