Am I really willing and obedient when it comes to my walk with the Lord? Am I really trusting and obeying Him in all areas? What does that even look like?
“If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the best of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
Isaiah 1:19-20
Failure to follow through is disobedience
As I pondered what it meant to be willing and obedient, I began to picture what the different scenarios looked like. For example, have you ever found yourself with a willing heart….but somehow, you failed to follow through with the Lord’s instructions? “Failed to follow through” sounds so much nicer than saying we disobeyed the Lord. However, that is exactly what it is: Disobedience.
Jesus tells a story in Matthew 21 about two sons. Their father tells them both to go and work in the vineyard. The first said, “I will not go”, but later goes. The second said, “I will go”, but never went. Jesus then asks, “which one obeyed?” The correct answer is that it is the first son who obeyed. While his heart was not willing at first, he must have reconsidered, because he later went out and did as the father asked. The second son gave the right answer to his father: he may have even been willing at the time; however, he never went. Perhaps, something better came up, or he decided he deserved to rest? Whatever the reason might be, his seemingly willing heart is not enough. He never followed through. He was in disobedience to the father.
Don’t Put Your “Yes” Off
Has the Lord ever given you instructions, and you said, “Yes, Lord.” But time passed and you found reasons to put your “yes” off? That is still disobedience. I have been guilty of that. It can appear to be small or insignificant areas:
- give up social media
- put down your phone
- give television a break
- go talk to your neighbor
- pray for that lady
- share your faith
- hold your tongue
The list can go on and on. The Father is speaking to us continually. We hear His sweet voice and respond with a willing “Yes, Lord, I will obey.”
At Gethsemane, right before Jesus’ death, He and three of the disciples went to pray. Jesus tells His disciples, “The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Jesus had gone off to pray by himself. When he returned, he found the disciples sleeping. The disciples had a willing spirit, but their flesh was weak.
Paul puts it this way in Romans 7:15-20.
“I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.”
This is what the Lord is showing me and what I want to leave with you:
We are called to be fully willing and fully obedient
It is about the heart and the action we take. We cannot fulfill this on our own. To be fully willing and fully obedient, we have to surrender our will to the Holy Spirit. We have to die to our own desires. In our own strength, we will fail time and time again.
Through Christ, we can do all things. I do have good news. When we fail, when we disobey, all we need to do is turn to the Father, repent of our sin, and His forgiveness and mercy will be present.
Here are some amazing examples of people in the Bible who not only demonstrated willingness and trust but followed through with complete obedience:
- Joseph: He was told to marry Mary, even though she was with child… God’s child. (Matthew 2)
- Mary: She was told that she was pregnant with the son of God while she was still a virgin. (Luke 1)
- John the Baptist: Jesus came to him to be baptized. (Matthew 3)
- Abraham and Sarah: Willing hearts, but not so great in the obedience category when it came to trusting God to keep them safe. They lied and said Sarah was his sister. (Genesis 20) They also struggled trusting God to bring their son into their life. (Genesis 16) However, they continued to turn their hearts to God, and He redeemed both situations. Like them, we are continually learning to trust and obey.
- Abraham showed great faith, along with willingness and obedience when God told him to sacrifice his son. (Genesis 22)
- Gideon doesn’t see himself the way God sees him, yet he trusted God and obeyed. (Judges 6)
- Phillip willing to do whatever God says and is instantly transported to a different location. (Acts 8)
- Esther goes before the king when it could mean her death. (Esther 1-9)
Do you want to eat the good of the land? Do you want to fulfill God’s plans and purposes for your life? If so, give God more than your “yes”, be willing to follow through with complete obedience. Be willing to surrender to the Father and then obey all that He shares with you. When you miss it, and sometimes you will, repent and obey and you will find His forgiveness and mercy.
Written by Collette Sawyer
