Have you ever been at a point in your life where, when you prayed, you told the Lord that whatever He asked or told you to do, be it what you wanted or didn’t want, you would still do it? I have. My prayer has always been that I would be submissive to the will of the Lord and obey Him throughout my life. I believe it is something that my parents have instilled in me through their own personal walk with God.
We Are Called to Obey the Lord!
The first Scripture that comes to mind when I talk about this is 1 Samuel 15:22.
“…Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice…” 1 Samuel 15:22, King James Version
Saul had been told by Samuel to slay Amalek and everything they had. Yet, Saul thought he knew best, put his thoughts above being obedient to the Lord, and brought back the king and animals to sacrifice to the Lord. His thought was that by sacrificing these things, it would make everything alright. Oh, how wrong he was!
We Can Gain a Testimony When We Obey!
See, I personally know what obedience to the voice of the Lord can do for you. Both of my children are here because of mine and my husband’s obedience to His calling on our lives. Leaving home and moving thirteen hours away from family and everything I had ever known to an area where I didn’t know a single person was not really on my itinerary of things to do. Neither was being married to a preacher and eventually a pastor. Yet, God had other plans for me. As a result of our obedience, we were blessed with our first miracle child. When God had us move back home to pastor the church my parents have pastored for years, which wasn’t on my list either, God blessed us again for our obedience with another miracle child.
Sure, there were some ups and downs in between, but we held on and continued to stand strong, knowing that by being obedient, God would bless whatever we put our hands on. We are His! None of this is to toot my own horn, but it is to show you that when you obey the voice of the Lord, regardless of what you think, the outcome is always worth it.
“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10, KJV
Have You Heard the Story of Johanan and the Remnant of Judah?
I’m still in the midst of the book of Jeremiah. One would think that I would have made it on to another book by now, but I tend to get sidetracked with other Scriptures that come to mind. Yet, every moment I get the chance, I am always coming back to try and finish. Recently, I was reading chapter 42, and the story jumped out at me.
In the previous chapter, you can see that Johanan Son of Kareah and his officers did what they could to protect the people from the Babylonians. One particular person of royal blood was evil and senselessly murdered those in captivity. When Johanan and his men went after them, the evil men fled. This scared them. They were afraid of retribution from the king of Babylon.
Johanan, his men, and several of the people that were rescued went to Jeremiah and asked him to pray to the Lord and come back and tell them what they should do. They themselves wanted to flee to Egypt, the very place they had been delivered from in the past.
“…Please hear our petition and pray to the LORD your God for this entire remnant. For as you now see, though we were once many, now only a few are left. Pray that the Lord your God will tell us where we should go and what we should do.” Jeremiah 42:2-3, New Internation Version.
The biggest thing I see in this chapter is that they had already determined in their minds what they were going to do. Yet they were so bold as to say that no matter what God told them to do, they would do it.
“Then they said to Jeremiah, ‘May the LORD be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act in accordance with everything the LORD your God sends you to tell us. Whether it is favorable or unfavorable, we will obey the LORD our God, to whom we are sending you, so that it will go well with us, for we will obey the LORD our God.” Jeremiah 42:5–6, NIV
There are Consequences to Disobedience!
God had already told them back before they were captured to submit to the king of Babylon and all would be well. However, now they were expecting a different answer. I’m sure they didn’t feel safe, but their hearts weren’t willing to accept what God would tell them to do. They lied, saying they would do whatever God said, whether it was good or bad. Oh, but God knew their hearts.
“Remnant of Judah, the LORD has told you, ‘Do not go to Egypt.’ Be sure of this: I warn you today that you made a fatal mistake when you sent me to the LORD your God and said, ‘Pray to the LORD our God for us; tell us everything he says and we will do it.’ I have told you today, but you still have not obeyed the LORD your God in all he sent me to tell you. So now, be sure of this: You will die by the sword, famine and plague in the place where you want to go to settle.” Jeremiah 42:19-22, NIV
The very next chapter revealed their rebellious hearts because they began calling Jeremiah a liar. (43:1-3).
“Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.” Sir. Walter Scott
God knows the deepest parts of our hearts. We have always had the choice to serve Him. He never forces Himself on us. However, if you claim to be one of His, then you need to make the decision to do so, no matter what the answer to a prayer is.
I Had to Learn to Trust God Through Heartbreak.
When I lost my son Samuel at 22 weeks, I begged God to revive his little heartbeat. I knew that God is a miracle worker. I knew that He had raised the dead. I have personally seen miracles performed. At the time, I already had a miracle of my own. I just knew He would hear my cry and come down and answer my prayer. Yet He didn’t. His answer was to take Samuel home to be with Him in Heaven. Sure, I grieved, and you can read more of the story here, but I knew that ultimately God was in control. I trusted Him even though the outcome wasn’t what I wanted it to be, and it still hurt. God had other plans and blessed me with another son three years later. I don’t know why the answer was no. I just know that God had His reasons. That’s how much I trust Him.
God Has Called Us to Obey!
How much do you trust His answer to your prayers? When He doesn’t give you the response you want, do you just trudge ahead and do what you want to do? Or do you stop, listen, and obey? Remember our scripture in 1 Samuel 15: “…to obey is better than sacrifice…”
I sure don’t want to be like Johanan and his men and tell God that I will do anything or go anywhere He tells me, EXCEPT this one thing. I want always be obedient in EVERYTHING no matter how good or how bad I may feel the answer is.
Remember, I’m always praying for you, even if I don’t know who you are!
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