Trust and Obey

     I can still remember my youngest son at the age of five walking around the house or playing at his grandparents' house and singing, "Trust and obey, for there's no other way, to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey."   But what exactly is the connection between trusting and obeying.  I believe that often the trusting is more difficult than the obeying.  And that often it is a lack of trust in God that can lead to a rebellious heart--to disobedience as a lifestyle.  In addition, to obey without trusting produces a mechanical Christianity, one that lacks a sense of fellowship, of abiding with God.  His presence seems far off and He seems unresponsive to our perceived needs.  We may even become reluctant to take our needs to Him in prayer.
     Yet, when you look through Scripture at the men and women that God uses as examples to teach and instruct us, it is those who trusted and obeyed that stand out as champions of the faith.  Noah trusted God and spent 120 years building an ark because rain and a flood were coming--and no one had ever seen rain or a flood.  Joseph trusted God from the pit to the prison to the palace, and "the Lord was with Joseph" wherever he went.  Moses trusted God from the palace of pharaoh through the wilderness wanderings and "since then no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses whom the Lord knew face to face."  Joshua trusted God from his rejected report after his days as a spy to his military triumphs in the conquest of the Promised Land.  "Not one of the good promises which the Lord has made to the house of Israel failed; all came to pass."  God "had given them His rest."  Daniel and his three friends trusted God in the midst of a culture determined to turn them away from Him and promising them prosperity if they would do so.  And God allowed them to see their protecting angels in fiery furnace, in the den of lions, on their knees in prayer.
     Trust makes all the difference in the relationship.  I can obey without trusting, but if I trust, I will obey regardless of the circumstances.  I will be strong and courageous in the face of the enemy.  I will take my burdened heart to Him in prayer.  I will find a song in my heart to dispel the lack of understanding and the anxious fears.
     So, how do I trust?  I give everything to Him.  Those that I love I release to His love.  I must, because at those times when they are struggling with obedience He may have to do something I would not want Him to do in order to return them to fellowship with Him.  I must understand that their relationship to Him is so much more important than their relationship to me.  I must give my circumstance to Him, for often, as I look at where I find myself, sight would say He's lost control,  He has not.  He has never been more in control of my circumstances than He is right now.  He never vacates His throne for a second.  He never takes His eyes off the sparrow, let alone me--the apple of His eye, His dearly beloved child.  I must give my failures to Him.  He alone can turn tears to laughter and joy.  I must give my triumphs to Him for they are His triumphs.  He is the Captain, leading His troops to victory over sin and self and Satan.  When I demand that God do something for me my way and in my time, I have quit trusting.  When I believe the circumstances and not the promises based upon His character, His love, I have quit trusting.  When I live in the guilt of the past, I have quit trusting.  When I think He can't do His work without me, I have quit trusting.  When I fear an imagined future, I have quit trusting.  But when I trust Him, I sense His presence, rest in His love, march on to victory, obey without hesitation or demands.

    "Trust and obey, for there's no other way, to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey."