Trust and Obey is our subject for today. Listen to this great old hymn. Then come back and let’s talk…
If you’re one of the older generations, you might remember the old song that goes Love and marriage…go together like a horse and carriage. If you never heard that one, you can find the background here. 😊 I’m not quite that old, but I remember hearing it as a kid when my Mom had the radio on. Trust and obey go together like that. When you trust God, you’ll want to obey Him.
I’d love to go into all the words of that song which can be found here, but will stick to the refrain. The verses talk about how when we walk with the Lord, He helps us on our way, sticks close by, chases the doubts and fears away, and how He gives us so much more than we ask or need. But for all that to happen, we need to take to heart the refrain:
“Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
To be happy with Jesus, but to trust and obey.”
Who of us doesn’t need some doubts chased away, our fears dispelled, and help along the way? I know I do…every day! Do you want to know what I found out? On the days when I allow those fears to take over, begin doubting, and lose sight of the good things of life—those are the days that I’ve gotten sidetracked and not trusted, not obeyed.
I wonder how many of my readers know what this was. Well, if you guessed an outhouse, you are correct. For the younger readers who never had to use one, consider yourself blessed. When I grew up, we were one of few people in the area who did not have total indoor plumbing so this rickety old building contained the “facilities”. Talk about trust! I had to trust this old building to not fall over with me in it.
What are we to trust? We need to trust in God’s promises, His goodness and love. Believe in Him. If we trust in ourselves, something else or another person, we will trip and fall every time. Our trust needs to be in God alone and He will lead the way for us.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart.
Do not depend on your own understanding.
In all your ways obey him.
Then he will make your paths smooth and straight.”
Proverbs 3:5-6, NiRV
Can you name some of God’s promises? I’m not going to help you. That’s something we should know if we’re in the Word. Pick up your Bible and use your concordance or search button on your Bible app. Look up key words like trust, obey, and promise. I’ll give you a kickstart: Jacob in Genesis 28:13-15.
I like to do word studies once in awhile and it’s interesting to see how the same word can be used in different ways and mean different things. I just looked at trust in my concordance and it said to also see believe and faith. I also heard a good analogy that if we trust someone, we will depend on them.
What are we to obey? We need to obey all the commands God has given us in His Word, not just the ones that are easy or convenient. Hey, I’m preaching to the choir here. Sometimes I read a verse and think to myself, yeah, right! I’m being honest, and if you want to be truly honest, I’m sure you do, too. So then I have to meditate on that, pray about it, and seek God’s help to be obedient to all His commands.
“Teach these new disciples to obey
all the commands I have given you.
And be sure of this: I am with you always,
even to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:20, NLT
Obedience to God’s promises bring blessings. It reminds me of when I was trying to train my dog to obey sit and stay commands. Most days it seemed like a lost cause with my strong-headed Black Labs…yes, I had one who died and got a second one, and they were both like that even though from different breeders. I would give him the command and when he obeyed, he got a treat. God gives us blessings when we obey His commands.
There’s a whole column of references to obeying in my Bible’s concordance, including this one at the very end of the Bible that includes prophecy.
“Look, I am coming soon!
Blessed are those who obey
the words of prophecy written in this book.”
Revelation 22:7, NLT
This week we talked about waiting and the anxiety it can bring, and now the trust and obedience to God’s Word that brings peace and happiness. Next week (starting tomorrow) we will start looking at the last days before Jesus’ life came to a horrible death and then joyously resurrected, and how it applies to us.
PRAYER POINT FOR TODAY:
Lord, trusting anyone is hard for some of us, especially when our trust has been broken and shattered by someone close to us. Help us to learn to trust You, knowing that You will never hurt us and indeed will bless us.
- Week 1 – temptation
- Week 2 – confession, forgiveness, and fasting
- Week 3 – listening to God and answering when He calls
- Week 4 – God’s love for us
- Week 5 – waiting, anxiety, and trust
- Week 6 – suffering (W), pain (T), and struggles (F-S), rejoicing (Palm Sunday), Trials (M-T-W), Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Silent Saturday
- Easter – resurrection and salvation