Thinking of the words to the old Hymn… “Trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus than to trust and obey”. Truer words were perhaps never sung – there can be no lasting peace or joy in our relationship to the Lord if we cannot trust him and obey him. The prerequisite to trust and obedience is hearing. We cannot put trust in promises that we do not know and we cannot obey commands that we have not heard.
Today’s passage from John is telling. If we dissect it we can see a pattern that must be followed if we are to hear God’s promise and desire:
- Know what the Word of God says – verses 31 & 32. "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." If we are not exposed to the words of God then the process cannot begin. We need to spend time daily in His Word if we are to know what to trust and how to obey.
- Realize and admit that you are ensnared and need to be set free – verses 34 through 36. If we cannot admit that we are slaves to sin by nature, we cannot take the steps needed to live in accordance with the will of God. Freedom can only be obtained through knowledge of the truth.
- Accept the Word of God without prejudice – verses 37 and 38. You must lay aside preconceived ideas and notions when you approach the Word of God for wisdom. We can ‘hear’ the Word without hearing if we have already made up our minds about what it says.
- Don’t hold too tightly to spiritual tradition – verse 39 though 41. We can hold our own truths in such high esteem that we cannot hear the absolute truth. We may even find ourselves defending our traditions in the face of new revelation, saying things like "We are not illegitimate children. The only Father we have is God himself." Keep in mind that God’s mercies are new every morning. Passages will speak different things to you at different times of your life – try not to build walls up around a revelation that may keep you from hearing God through the same passage in the future.
- If you find you are having trouble ‘hearing’, search your heart for the reason and ask God to reveal the truth to you through His Word – verses 42 through 47. If we struggle to hear spiritual truth, or cannot hear it at all, we really need to find out what’s going on with our hearts. If our hearts and lives belong to God as they should, we should hear and understand His word every day. If we find that we hear nothing from God there is definitely something wrong with our relationship to Him. Frequently it is one of the five items listed above that is causing the problem. If you are seriously wanting to hear from to God, pray through them and today’s passage to see if indeed something in your mindset is blocking understanding of His truth.
Finally, once we know what is required of us, we need to obey. As scripture states in James 1:22-24: “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Those who listen to the word but do not do what it says are like people who look at their faces in a mirror and, after looking at themselves, go away and immediately forget what they look like.” Hearing and doing tend to work in a cyclical nature. If we hear from God and do not obey, we are less likely to hear Him the next time he speaks. If we obey immediately, he will likely speak to us quickly. If we remain always hearing and thereafter obeying, we can come to the place where all of life is summed up in two words – Trust and Obey.
Father – Help me to trust and obey you today! Reveal your will for my life through your word and strengthen me to live in accordance with that revelation. If any of the things mentioned above is hindering me from hearing and understanding you, please reveal that to me as well and cleanse my heart from stubborness and spititual prejudice.
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