The other day, I woke up to an old hymn playing in my head, “Trust and Obey.” “Trust and obey for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus than to trust and obey.” I instinctively knew The Lord was trying to teach me something. Today, I want to share that lesson of how to trust and obey with you.
I remember, years ago, sitting in a church service with this unsettledness in my spirit. An anxiousness really. I felt as if the Holy Spirit were prompting me to go and offer a word of encouragement to someone who was sitting just a few rows in front of me. The correct response is to trust and obey what I feel God is leading me to do. Often, because of fear, I do the opposite.
This mother had been struggling with her rebellious teenage child for months and we, as a congregation, had been praying for her and her family for just as long. But on this day, as she sat there not even knowing where her child was, I heard God speak to my heart. God asked me to tell her these words, “God has heard your prayer and everything is going to be okay.”
“Trust and obey for there’s no other way…”
When God asks you to do something, you would think it would be easy to step up and do the thing. It is not. Immediately, the thoughts begin to race. Those thoughts go something like this, “She’s going to think I’m a crazy person.” “Who am I to relay a message from God.” “Who do I think I am?” “This is crazy!” “I am a crazy person!” I believe this is the enemy’s attempt to stop what God is about to do.
For me, God’s instructions generally come as a faint whisper. When God speaks, do not be afraid. Step out of your comfort zone and allow God to use you. Because that is exactly what God wants to do, use you to shower His love on to another person.
This mother needed to hear these words. Not from me, but from God. Don’t hinder what God is about to do, because of your discomfort. Partner with God and let God work through you for a greater good.
At the end of the service, I pushed passed my discomfort and relayed the message God asked me to. After, we hugged, cried and then prayed together. Later in the week, I heard that her daughter was back home and the situation had improved. That’s God for you!
“to be happy in Jesus…”
Here’s the kicker, God uses everything.
Years later, raising my own teenager, I am encouraged. All I need to do is trust and obey God and rest in the assurance that everything is going to be okay. It is a learning process for sure.
So, the next time you receive a prompting, a push, a nudge from God to do something, do it. It could be as simple as sending a card, calling a friend, praying for someone. In these moments, you have an opportunity to respond. All you have to do is trust and obey.
Let us pray;
Dear Lord, thank you for never giving up on us. Thank you for continuing to teach us how to trust and obey. Thank you that You use everything for your glory. Equip us to be courageous enough to do whatever You ask us to do. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
P.S. -Join me next week as we go a little deeper in this lesson of “Trust and Obey.” Leave me a comment below because I love hearing from you. Forward this message to a friend and/or share on Facebook. See you next week. -M
