Trust and obey

A few days ago I read a story which I believe is worth repeating. A soldier was giving a talk and used his boots as an illustration of the point he was making. One boot he called Trust and the other one was Obey. I was thinking about this and realised it refers to our Christian life. As we walk through life the most important things we can do is to trust in God and to obey His Word. If we do this we will overcome our trials. The bible tells us to ‘seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you’. Matthew 6 v 33. So walk in His way, seek His face, trust in Him for all things, obey His commands and you will have what you ask for.

As it says in Psalm 42 v 1-2 (NLT) ‘As the deer pants for water so I long for you O God, I thirst for God, the living God, when can I come and stand before him’. Then in verse 8 ‘Through each day the Lord pours His unfailing love upon me, and through each night I sing His songs, praying to God who gives me life.’ So as we walk through each day we realise that we need God in our lives just as we need food and water – ‘I thirst for God’ – and as we put our trust in Him, no matter what the situation is that we are in, His unfailing love is available to us. He will help us through each and every trial if we just trust in Him and obey what He calls us to do which means listening to Him when we call out to Him.

Even in the Old Testament one situation emphasises this command. The Israelites had disobeyed God by not going up and taking the land He had given them ‘You rebelled against the command of the Lord your God and refused to trust or to obey Him’. So, Moses had to bow down for forty days and worship and entreat God to forgive them. Deuteronomy 9 v 23 – 25. So nothing has changed except that we don’t need Moses to beg and entreat God to forgive us. Jesus has already dealt with it on the cross. When we disobey the Father and fail to trust in Him we have to repent, knowing that because of Jesus we are forgiven, and He will pour His unfailing love on us and help us to overcome our trials.

: Terry Walmsley :