Trust and Obey: The Joy of Obedience for the Christian
Why is obedience so important in this Christian life? Now that we have been saved by grace, isn’t blind obedience just self-righteousness? We live in a society that hates words like submission, authority, law, and judgment. Isn’t submission a sign of weakness; authority a sign of dictatorship; law a sign of legalism, and judgment too “judgy”? Or have we been believing a lie?
There is no question about it, obedience is something that must be learned in the human life. We are not born knowing how to obey- we must learn to first obey the commands of our parents, then if we are saved we learn to obey the commands of our Lord. Since the Lord first began transforming my heart 10 year ago, I have found His commands to be quite opposite of what I want to do, or even what my parents told me to do from my childhood. They often go against my natural ways as so often I am told to, “Trust in the Lord.. Commit your way to the Lord..” (Ps. 37:5), which completely takes all control from my own hands. The dictionary defines obedience as, “compliance with an order, request, or law; or submission to another’s authority.” The word “obedience” and everything it stands for is even an ugly thing to us! This isn’t just America, or this new generation. This has been the sickness in mankind ever since Eve gave Adam the forbidden fruit and they both ate it. Now here we are, in a fallen world completely tainted by sin, hating truth, calling obedience self-righteousness, not submitting to authority, needing God’s grace and mercy to soften our hearts to humility. Thank God for Jesus.
Isaiah 50:4-5 begins the third of four servant-songs in Isaiah, which prophesies of the Messiah that will come.
“The Lord has given Me the tongue of disciples, that I may know how to sustain the weary one with a word. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple. The Lord God has opened My ear; and I was not disobedient nor did I turn back.”
This prophesy gives us keen insight to Jesus’s mission and mind set, revealing more of our Father’s heart to us. Those moments where Jesus went off to pray, He was awakened to listen as a disciple of His Father (disciple means student, or one being taught), and we are told it was so Jesus would know how to sustain the weary one with a word. What words did Jesus say? In John 14:10 Jesus says,
“Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works.”
The words He spoke, He spoke as a disciple who had perfectly learned and understood the perfect words of His Father, for the purpose of sustaining the weary one. Who is the weary one?
In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus says,
“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.”
“Weary and heavy-laden” is also translated, “who work to exhaustion.” Jesus is telling those who are absolutely exhausted from working the law for their own salvation, to come to Him and He will give them rest. In verse 29 He tells them this is not a physical rest, but a spiritual one when He says,“You will find rest for your souls.” This speaks of the person who is not content to find righteousness in themselves, they know they are sinners and any good work they could do would only ever be as good as dirty rags before the Father. This is the one whom Jesus’s words will sustain; but for the one content with their good deeds, the one who is not weary, these words are meaningless. Isaiah 50:5 reads,
“The Lord God has opened My ear; and I was not disobedient nor did I turn back.”
Jesus was never once disobedient to His Father, nor did He ever turn back from His mission in the face of adversity, we see this over and over again in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
“I gave My back to those who strike Me, and My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard; I did not cover My face from humiliation and spitting.” Is 50:6.
In Jesus’s first ever documented sermon, titled “The Sermon on the Mount,” He talks about the issue of retaliation in Matthew 5:38-42.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.”
Jesus is giving His followers directions to live as it was prophesied for Him to live! Our Lord is telling His own to cease from retaliation, and put all hope in the Father. Our Savior was not giving blind directions, either. We have documented truths of where He was being tried for lies and false accusations in Mark 15:1-5, and Jesus “made no further answer” as to His own innocence, and it is written that “Pilate was amazed.” Can you imagine what Pilate must have heard in his years of seeing the condemned? I am sure the first thing most said in that situation was that they were innocent. They would have a million excuses for why they said what they said, or did what they did. The accusations made against Christ were many. Jesus did not refute a single one and Pilate was amazed.
“For the Lord God helps Me, therefore, I am not disgraced; therefore, I have set My face like flint, and I know that I will not be ashamed.” Is 50:7.
This word “flint” means “a rock”. The Messiah had set his face to rock hard determination, for the purpose of seeing His full mission of obedience to the Father through to the end. He knew He would not be disgraced, even as He endured being spit on and having His hair ripped out, because His hope was in the Lord’s provision and care. Luke 9:51 tells us of the determination Jesus had to get to Jerusalem. “When the days were approaching for His ascension, He was determined to go to Jerusalem.” “Determined” is also translated “set His face.” At this point in Scripture, Jesus had set His face like flint in order to achieve perfect obedience on the cross.
“He who vindicates Me is near; who will contend with Me? Let us stand up to each other; who has a case against Me? Let Him draw near to Me. Behold, the Lord God helps Me; who is he who condemns Me? Behold, they will all wear out like a garment; the moth will eat them.” Is 50:8,9.
Paul said this same thing pertaining to the life of all believers who are called according to the purpose of God when he said in Romans 8:31, “…if God is for us, who is against us?” And in verse 33, “Who will bring a charge against God’s elect?” Jesus had perfect confidence, not in the way humans were responding to Him when they cried out, “Crucify Him!”, but in the One who called Him to “humble Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Ph 2:8). This is why our hope should never be in the circumstances we see before us, but always in the One who has called us from darkness to light for His purposes. But what is His purpose for His chosen ones, while they live their lives on this earth for His glory? I’m hoping the closing of this devotional will answer this question.
“Who is among you that fears the Lord, that obeys the voice of His servant, that walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God.” Is 50:10.
In this prophesy of the Messiah speaking, He is asking, “Who here fears the Lord and believes the words of His Servant to be better than your own? Who here knows they only have darkness and sin, and is devoid of any light?” He’s not calling the “spiritually sound”. He is not calling the ones who seem to have it all together. He is calling those who know they can not ever achieve righteousness, and He says, “Let him trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God.” But in contrast to the one lacking any light He says,
“Behold, all you who kindle a fire, who encircle yourselves with firebrands, walk in the light of your fire and among the brands you have set ablaze. This you will have from My hand: you will lie down in torment.” Is 50:11.
This is the one who trusts in their own righteousness, and their own ways. They are lighting their own fires of goodness and righteousness. They are told the Lord will make them lie down in torment, because all they are doing is kindling a fire with dirty rags (Is 64:6); A fire that will inevitably be quenched.
In the face of adversity, what do you do? Do you give to your anger, self-pity, or retaliation? Or do you trust in the God who has set your feet on a solid rock? It is written about Abraham, “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to Him as righteousness.” (James 2:23). What did Abraham believe? He believed the word of the Lord when He told Abraham He would make him a great nation, and Abraham lived his life believing the Lord’s word as truth. Do you believe His word to be truth? When He says things like, “Do not fret, be not envious, trust in the Lord and do good, rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him, cease from anger and forsake wrath” (Psalm 37), do you believe it to be words worthy of resting on in obedience? I am asking myself these same questions. If I don’t forgive others for the ways they have wronged me, will the Lord really not forgive me my transgressions, (Mt 6:14,15)
To answer these questions, my mind is taken to the old hymn whose chorus beautifully states, “Trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, than to trust and obey.” And it is so worth it all, to one day hear the blessed words, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your master.”
by Brittany Gallups
There is no question about it, obedience is something that must be learned in the human life. We are not born knowing how to obey- we must learn to first obey the commands of our parents, then if we are saved we learn to obey the commands of our Lord. Since the Lord first began transforming my heart 10 year ago, I have found His commands to be quite opposite of what I want to do, or even what my parents told me to do from my childhood. They often go against my natural ways as so often I am told to, “Trust in the Lord.. Commit your way to the Lord..” (Ps. 37:5), which completely takes all control from my own hands. The dictionary defines obedience as, “compliance with an order, request, or law; or submission to another’s authority.” The word “obedience” and everything it stands for is even an ugly thing to us! This isn’t just America, or this new generation. This has been the sickness in mankind ever since Eve gave Adam the forbidden fruit and they both ate it. Now here we are, in a fallen world completely tainted by sin, hating truth, calling obedience self-righteousness, not submitting to authority, needing God’s grace and mercy to soften our hearts to humility. Thank God for Jesus.
Isaiah 50:4-5 begins the third of four servant-songs in Isaiah, which prophesies of the Messiah that will come.
“The Lord has given Me the tongue of disciples, that I may know how to sustain the weary one with a word. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple. The Lord God has opened My ear; and I was not disobedient nor did I turn back.”
This prophesy gives us keen insight to Jesus’s mission and mind set, revealing more of our Father’s heart to us. Those moments where Jesus went off to pray, He was awakened to listen as a disciple of His Father (disciple means student, or one being taught), and we are told it was so Jesus would know how to sustain the weary one with a word. What words did Jesus say? In John 14:10 Jesus says,
“Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works.”
The words He spoke, He spoke as a disciple who had perfectly learned and understood the perfect words of His Father, for the purpose of sustaining the weary one. Who is the weary one?
In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus says,
“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.”
“Weary and heavy-laden” is also translated, “who work to exhaustion.” Jesus is telling those who are absolutely exhausted from working the law for their own salvation, to come to Him and He will give them rest. In verse 29 He tells them this is not a physical rest, but a spiritual one when He says,“You will find rest for your souls.” This speaks of the person who is not content to find righteousness in themselves, they know they are sinners and any good work they could do would only ever be as good as dirty rags before the Father. This is the one whom Jesus’s words will sustain; but for the one content with their good deeds, the one who is not weary, these words are meaningless. Isaiah 50:5 reads,
“The Lord God has opened My ear; and I was not disobedient nor did I turn back.”
Jesus was never once disobedient to His Father, nor did He ever turn back from His mission in the face of adversity, we see this over and over again in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
“I gave My back to those who strike Me, and My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard; I did not cover My face from humiliation and spitting.” Is 50:6.
In Jesus’s first ever documented sermon, titled “The Sermon on the Mount,” He talks about the issue of retaliation in Matthew 5:38-42.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.”
Jesus is giving His followers directions to live as it was prophesied for Him to live! Our Lord is telling His own to cease from retaliation, and put all hope in the Father. Our Savior was not giving blind directions, either. We have documented truths of where He was being tried for lies and false accusations in Mark 15:1-5, and Jesus “made no further answer” as to His own innocence, and it is written that “Pilate was amazed.” Can you imagine what Pilate must have heard in his years of seeing the condemned? I am sure the first thing most said in that situation was that they were innocent. They would have a million excuses for why they said what they said, or did what they did. The accusations made against Christ were many. Jesus did not refute a single one and Pilate was amazed.
“For the Lord God helps Me, therefore, I am not disgraced; therefore, I have set My face like flint, and I know that I will not be ashamed.” Is 50:7.
This word “flint” means “a rock”. The Messiah had set his face to rock hard determination, for the purpose of seeing His full mission of obedience to the Father through to the end. He knew He would not be disgraced, even as He endured being spit on and having His hair ripped out, because His hope was in the Lord’s provision and care. Luke 9:51 tells us of the determination Jesus had to get to Jerusalem. “When the days were approaching for His ascension, He was determined to go to Jerusalem.” “Determined” is also translated “set His face.” At this point in Scripture, Jesus had set His face like flint in order to achieve perfect obedience on the cross.
“He who vindicates Me is near; who will contend with Me? Let us stand up to each other; who has a case against Me? Let Him draw near to Me. Behold, the Lord God helps Me; who is he who condemns Me? Behold, they will all wear out like a garment; the moth will eat them.” Is 50:8,9.
Paul said this same thing pertaining to the life of all believers who are called according to the purpose of God when he said in Romans 8:31, “…if God is for us, who is against us?” And in verse 33, “Who will bring a charge against God’s elect?” Jesus had perfect confidence, not in the way humans were responding to Him when they cried out, “Crucify Him!”, but in the One who called Him to “humble Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Ph 2:8). This is why our hope should never be in the circumstances we see before us, but always in the One who has called us from darkness to light for His purposes. But what is His purpose for His chosen ones, while they live their lives on this earth for His glory? I’m hoping the closing of this devotional will answer this question.
“Who is among you that fears the Lord, that obeys the voice of His servant, that walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God.” Is 50:10.
In this prophesy of the Messiah speaking, He is asking, “Who here fears the Lord and believes the words of His Servant to be better than your own? Who here knows they only have darkness and sin, and is devoid of any light?” He’s not calling the “spiritually sound”. He is not calling the ones who seem to have it all together. He is calling those who know they can not ever achieve righteousness, and He says, “Let him trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God.” But in contrast to the one lacking any light He says,
“Behold, all you who kindle a fire, who encircle yourselves with firebrands, walk in the light of your fire and among the brands you have set ablaze. This you will have from My hand: you will lie down in torment.” Is 50:11.
This is the one who trusts in their own righteousness, and their own ways. They are lighting their own fires of goodness and righteousness. They are told the Lord will make them lie down in torment, because all they are doing is kindling a fire with dirty rags (Is 64:6); A fire that will inevitably be quenched.
In the face of adversity, what do you do? Do you give to your anger, self-pity, or retaliation? Or do you trust in the God who has set your feet on a solid rock? It is written about Abraham, “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to Him as righteousness.” (James 2:23). What did Abraham believe? He believed the word of the Lord when He told Abraham He would make him a great nation, and Abraham lived his life believing the Lord’s word as truth. Do you believe His word to be truth? When He says things like, “Do not fret, be not envious, trust in the Lord and do good, rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him, cease from anger and forsake wrath” (Psalm 37), do you believe it to be words worthy of resting on in obedience? I am asking myself these same questions. If I don’t forgive others for the ways they have wronged me, will the Lord really not forgive me my transgressions, (Mt 6:14,15)
To answer these questions, my mind is taken to the old hymn whose chorus beautifully states, “Trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, than to trust and obey.” And it is so worth it all, to one day hear the blessed words, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your master.”
by Brittany Gallups
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