Trust And Obey, For There’s No Other Way
How many of you grew up in the church singing, Trust and Obey? This song, along with Amazing Grace, is one of the songs our small church always sang. I was listening to a sermon today that talked about obeying the Lord, and this song popped into my mind.
The chorus of the song is:
Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.
Well, this sounds pretty cut and dry. To be happy in Jesus, you have to TRUST and OBEY. Not one or the other, but both trust and obey. Do you know how hard this can be?
It is easy to say, “I trust Jesus.” I’ve said this many times and meant it with all my heart. But, the problem can arise because we don’t know the rest of the story. The Lord knows what will happen down the road when He asks something of us, and we have to trust in Him enough to take the first step.
Matthew 4:18-20 NKJV
18 And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 19 Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 They immediately left their nets and followed Him.
Jesus actually told Peter and Andrew what would happen if they obeyed him. He told them to follow Him, and they “immediately” threw down their nets. They didn’t hesitate; they didn’t consult with their family; they threw down their nets. I’m almost willing to bet they didn’t even know what the Lord was talking about when He told them they would become fishers of men.
In the book of Exodus, we read about Moses. The Lord picked Moses to lead His people out of Egypt into the promised land. He appeared to Moses in a burning bush and told him to go to Pharaoh and tell him to let the Egyptians go.
Moses was not like Peter and Andrew, at least not at first. Instead, he tried to squirm his way out of doing what the Lord asked of him. I would call him “ole escuso.” He had an excuse for everything the Lord said, and the Lord was starting to get agitated.
In the end, Moses obeyed and did as the Lord asked. He was probably trembling in his shoes, and if he hadn’t stuttered before, I’m sure he did once been in the presence of Pharaoh.
I want to think I am like Peter and Andrew, but in reality, I would probably be Moses. Moses had a whole lot of “what ifs,” but the Lord still used him. I want you to take a few moments and think about what might have happened if any of these men hadn’t trusted and obeyed.
Their actions affected everyone, including us. Their trust and obedience had a trickle effect on their friends and families, and they eventually trickled down to us.
If their actions affected others, what about our actions? What if we don’t trust the Lord and obey His directions? Whether we do or don’t, our actions will both have a trickle effect, just like Peter, Andrew, and Moses.
To GOD Goes The Glory!
Have A Blessed Day!
Easier to sing than to do. But…all by God’s grace who enables. Thank you for your inspiring thoughts!
You are right, it is much easier to sing.
I grew up with that song too, and truly didn’t realize it’s meaning until later. Still true today. Good word, Tania!
Great message!
We sang Trust and Obey this morning in our church service. It is a beautiful song. Great devotion to illustrate the meaning of the song. The work you do with fashion is meaningful, but the devotions and work you do for the Lord is the most important work you’ll ever do. Thank you!
Isn’t that a fun coincidence?!?
Grew up singing Trust and Obey, along with many old hymnal songs Quite a change from now a day. I miss hearing them.
Hi, I received an email last night from Tania notifying me that I had won her weekly giveaway of a $50 Amazon gift card. What a wonderful surprise! Thanks again, Tania!
I’ve always loved that song!
What a great reminder that we have to do both. Thanks for the convicting message. Be blessed!
Its as simple and as hard to Trust and Obey. I am leaning into Jesus more everyday and I do trust and obey more easily now. Thank you for spreading the truth and light.
Thank you for these encouraging words. It was much needed as I am going through physical pains in my head and ear without much relief. So now I need to keep my eyes on Jesus and off of myself and just trust and obey.