Trust and Obey

I grew up singing hymns.  Using a hymnal on Sunday mornings and thumbing through the pages to find the right number.  Singing verses and familiar choruses.  As a small child and teenager, I didn’t appreciate the words for what they were.  Years later, I do.

Many of the hymns were written hundreds of years ago.  All with a purpose.  It’s clear some have embedded themselves in my memory.  There to cherish for years to come.

Such is the hymn, Trust and Obey.  Written in 1887 by John H. Sammis, the meaning is still true and relevant today.

When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word,
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will, He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.

Refrain:
Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

Not a shadow can rise, not a cloud in the skies,
But His smile quickly drives it away;
Not a doubt or a fear, not a sigh or a tear,
Can abide while we trust and obey.

Refrain:
Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

Walking with God is always worth it.  May not be easy all of the time but the twists and turns along the way serve God’s purpose for our lives if we follow Him.  He’s calling us, His followers, to trust and obey.  Trust that His ways are higher and far greater than anything I could ever dream up for myself.  Obeying Him and following His commandments will align our lives with God’s plans.

Two concepts that can bring a level of challenges and anxiety.  It’s hard to trust and obey when we don’t know how things are going to work out.  When you’re living in sheer faith, out on a limb that you’re afraid is going to break at any moment.  When you’re praying for courage.  Not for the future, but for now, for this very moment.  When you’re living in the tension of trusting and obeying.  When it’s all so complicated.

As I sat rocking our foster child, as I did many nights, this hymn was on my mind.  It became a frequent reminder as I sang the familiar words to myself and to the precious little one in my arms.  A reminder that God was present.  There was and has been so much unknown and I’ll admit there have been scary moments, but at the same time there has been a sense of peace, only from God.

I’m thankful for the words of this hymn.  Coming back out of my heart where I first stored the words so many years ago.  The words and meaning stayed for such a time as this.  I’m so grateful.  I needed this reminder.

I was also reminded of the famous story of Abraham and Isaac in the Old Testament, when Abraham’s faith was so strong and so real that he just about sacrificed his son Isaac because he was following God and trusting that God would come through for him at just the right moment.  Abraham trusted and obeyed.  I want to live a life that speaks the same.  Will I trust and obey even when I don’t know the outcome?  When it seems confusing?

I don’t know where you are or what you may be facing today.  Maybe you’re out on a limb of faith, like me, and you need encouragement.  Take a listen to these words.  Make it your prayer today to trust and obey.  There is truly no better way.

Genesis 22:1-9

Some time later, God tested Abraham’s faith. “Abraham!” God called.

“Yes,” he replied. “Here I am.”

“Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.”

The next morning Abraham got up early. He saddled his donkey and took two of his servants with him, along with his son, Isaac. Then he chopped wood for a fire for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had told him about. On the third day of their journey, Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.  “Stay here with the donkey,” Abraham told the servants. “The boy and I will travel a little farther. We will worship there, and then we will come right back.”

So Abraham placed the wood for the burnt offering on Isaac’s shoulders, while he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them walked on together, Isaac turned to Abraham and said, “Father?”

“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.

“We have the fire and the wood,” the boy said, “but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?” “God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham answered. And they both walked on together. When they arrived at the place where God had told him to go, Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it. Then he tied his son, Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood.