Faith & Obedience

I have come to realize even more this year that faith in the Lord, and obedience to Him, work together.  Neither are meant to stand alone.  I believe each quality draws strength from the other one working in our lives.

The difference between standing and walking is motion.  This can be applied to our relationship with God.  Standing on God’s promises as our solid foundation for our lives takes faith.  Setting our faith in motion, walking according to God’s words for our lives, is obedience to Him.

Both faith and obedience are important qualities to have and maintain on our Christian journey, especially when promises from God aren’t immediately fulfilled in our lives.  Even when we are waiting on God for something, we must continue to walk with Him.

Abraham is a good example of faith and obedience working in his life’s journey with God.  “The Lord said to Abraham, ‘Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you.  I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.  I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.’  So Abraham left, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him.  Abraham was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran.  He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.  Abraham traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem.  At that time the Canaanites were in the land.  The Lord appeared to Abraham and said, ‘To your offspring I will give this land.’”  (Genesis 12:1-7, New International Version)  That’s quite a message from God, isn’t it?!  The only problem was that Abraham didn’t have any offspring, any children, to inherit the land of the Canaanites.  Abraham would have to wait twenty-five years before these words from the Lord became a reality.  When Abraham was 100-years-old, his promised son, Isaac, was finally born (see Genesis 21).  Genesis 21:2 tells us that Isaac’s birth happened at “God’s appointed time.”

I don’t know why God waited 25-years to bless Abraham with a son.  I imagine there must have been times when Abraham thought, “God, when are you going to do what you said you would do?”  In those 25-years, Abraham had his ups and downs.  There were times when he shined, and did what was right in the sight of the Lord; and there were times when he took matters into his own hands and made big mistakes.  The greatest thing that He did, though, was continually walk with God.  Abraham kept his faith in the Lord.  He wasn’t perfect, but he did his best to obey God.  Abraham had to wait longer than I would have wanted to wait for a promise to come true, but he didn’t stop on his journey with the Lord.  I believe God used those 25-years in Abraham’s journey to mold and prepare him for the fulfillment of His word.

Is there something that God has spoken to you?  Maybe there was a verse that you read in the Bible that jumped out at you and made you say, “That’s for me!”  It could be that the Lord has impressed something deep upon your heart.  Whatever it is that He has promised you, He will bring it to pass!  God says in Isaiah 55:11, “My Word which goes forth from My mouth will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.”

You may long for an immediate result after the Lord has spoken to you, but His “appointed time” may be different than what you have in mind.  Whatever length of time you find yourself waiting, stay on your journey with God.  You’ll find that His appointed time is the perfect time in your life for His promise to come true.  In the meantime, keep that vision the Lord gave you clearly before you.  It’s for an appointed time, and it shall be fulfilled.  You will not be deceived or disappointed.  Though it tarries, wait earnestly for it, because it will surely come to pass.  (See Habakkuk 2:2-3.)  Stand strong in your faith in God.  Put your faith in motion, and live it, by walking in obedience to the Lord.  You are on a great journey with Him!