jennifer-roberts Many Christians marvel at the jaw dropping miracles that God performed in the Old Testament. We are inspired by how in the book of Genesis, God provided a ram for Abraham to sacrifice even though God originally asked Abraham to sacrifice his only son, Isaac. We are awestruck when we read in Exodus about God parting the Red Sea so that the Israelites could escape enslavement in Egypt. We celebrate how the Jewish people were spared from annihilation in the book of Esther when one of the king’s chief advisors decreed that all the Jews be killed. We hold up these examples of God’s love for His people and His ability to do the seemingly impossible on their behalf. What we sometimes overlook is what happened prior to God performing these miracles.
What all too often gets ignored or forgotten altogether is the obedience of the person or people through which God performed the miracle. It is imperative that we remember that it is their obedience to God’s instructions that created the proper environment for Him to act on their behalf. God’s ear and heart are always inclined toward His people, but it is our obedience that moves His hand.
My husband and I have two children, ages 11 and 14. We love our children unconditionally and provide for their spiritual, emotional, mental and physical wellbeing. We want them to prosper. Our love for them is not based on what they do or don’t do.
There are many times in which our children ask us for privileges or material items that they want but do not need. While we would love to grant most of their requests because we love them, we do not. When we deny one of our children’s requests; it is usually because of a lack of maturity or a lack of obedience in specific areas.
For example, let’s pretend that it’s a Saturday morning and I’ve told my son to complete his chores by noon. At 12:30 p.m., his friend calls to invite him to the pool and my son asks me if he can go. The first question I am going to ask him is , “Did you do your chores?” If his answer is “Yes,” and there aren’t any other circumstances preventing him from going to the pool, my response to him will be “Yes, you can go.” However, if my son’s response is “No,” then my response to what He wants me to do will also be “No.” It’s not that I want to say “No” or that I don’t have the power to say, “Yes.” But because my son did not follow the instructions that I gave him prior to the opportunity to go to the pool presented itself, he has restricted the release of my power over his circumstance.
Like I desire for my children to trust and obey me as their mother, God wants the same for us as our heavenly Father. He wants to grant us the desires of our hearts. He longs to perform miracles in our lives, but He first requires our obedience.
The message Bible translates part of 1 Samuel 15:22 this way, “Then Samuel said, Do you think all God wants are sacrifices— empty rituals just for show? He wants you to listen to him! Plain listening is the thing, not staging a lavish religious production.”
In Genesis 22, God gave Abraham directions that would not make sense to most parents including me. God had blessed Abraham and his wife, Sarah with a son, Isaac. When Isaac was a child, God told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac as a burnt offering. Now, I don’t know about you, but this would have been a hard instruction for me to follow. But Abraham obeyed. In this instance, God was testing Abraham and Abraham passed. After he passed the test of faith and obedience, God honored Abraham’s obedience by sparing Isaac’s life and blessing Abraham with innumerable descendants. After Abraham obeyed, God gifted him more than he had before the test.
Genesis 22: 15-18 says, “The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.
God wants us to listen to His directions and quickly obey them.
In the book of Exodus, before God parted the Red Sea and allowed the Israelites to cross on dry land, Moses had to listen to God’s preliminary instructions when he was herding sheep in the desert. Moses had to listen when God spoke to him through the burning bush. Moses had to obey when God sent him to the most powerful man in the country and told him to advocate for the Hebrew people. Moses asked questions of God and even made excuses but ultimately, he obeyed and through Moses’ obedience, the Israelites were delivered out of bondage. God wants to release his power in this way for you and for me.
Don’t let the enemy deceive you into thinking that your obedience, even in seemingly little decisions, is not significant. It is.
In the book of Esther, Queen Esther’s decision to approach the king even though she hadn’t been called for could have resulted in her death. But she trusted and obeyed the Lord. Her decision to disregard royal protocol, expose her identity and request that the lives of her people be spared required courage and obedience. Her decision to obey God, despite the potential cost to her, changed the course of history.
You may be thinking that the consequences of your daily decisions pale in comparison to the examples of Abraham, Moses, and Esther. Do not be deceived or discouraged. While you may not be called on to lead a nation out of physical slavery, physically sacrifice your child as a burnt offering or physically jeopardize your life to save the lives of an entire nation, God is calling you to the same level of obedience.
Like Abraham, He is calling you to dedicate to Him everything and everyone with which He has blessed you. Like Moses, He is calling you to advocate on behalf of those in your family and community and to petition politicians to do what is right for the people that they govern. Like, Esther He is calling you to have integrity. He is asking you to use your proximity to power and your influence to bring about change even at the risk of losing your position.
As we live through the global pandemic caused by COVID-19, I often reflect upon the words of 1 Chronicles 7:14 which say, “If my people which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”
In this verse, God outlines crystal clear directions for healing. He gives four instructions to believers: humble ourselves, pray, seek His face and turn from our wicked ways. This is God’s road map for corporate healing. In faith, we must read it and follow it. However, often, what we want is healing without work and deliverance without obedience. But it is our obedience to his instructions that will move His hand. We know this because he goes on to say, “then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”
God empowers us each day to listen and obey; to hear and heed His instructions. It is our job to follow through, no matter how insignificant, insane or mundane the instructions may seem. To experience the limitless power of God in our lives we must first choose to obey.
