A Heart of Obedience

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word and does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do” (James 1:22-25).

There’s a "churchy" word James is describing here. Obedience.

Obedience can be a tough one to digest. Humans are naturally, to some regard, rebellious in nature. Now more than ever, as we live in a culture constantly reminding us to romanticize our lives by doing what makes us happy or pleasing the universe, reminding us that we “only live once.”

For both the believer and the unbeliever alike, the latter couldn’t be more false.

The universe has a name. His name is God. And I am of the full belief that we can romanticize our lives, not by doing what makes us happy, but by doing what makes Him happy.

You see, the Word has got to be the final authority in our lives. And when you know what we know, why would you want any different? His plan and His will are perfect. Ours, when misaligned with His, will only ever be good at best and most often, lacking.

Now I know we know what we know. So why then, is it sometimes so hard to live it?

Four ingredients makes up complete obedience to the will of the Lord. This is because obedience is not just an outward action. It’s a response to love, faith, trust, and surrender to the Lord.

Let’s break this down.

Loving the Lord is easy. Even unbelievers, when cruising the top of the tidal wave of life, will catch themselves saying “I’m blessed.” How easy it is to love someone who's good to you.

Faith, on the surface, can be slightly synonymous with hope. If your glass is at least half full, you’ve probably dabbled in some faith at some point or another.

Trust is a little bit harder at times. But we have this big, glorious book telling us stories of the sin and the struggle biblical heroes and heroines faced before their big breakthroughs where God promised, time and again, that He is who He says He is.

And we love Him for that. We have faith that that is to be our story. So we put our trust in the Lord. We put our faith in Him.

But . . . what about when He closes a door we had our hearts set on passing through?

What about when we’re soaked to the bone standing in a storm that doesn’t look to be ending any time soon?

Or when we’re parched and weak from a desert season we never wanted?

In the blueprints of His plan for mankind, God gave us the gift of free will, and often, we use it to a fault. Because God’s way is better until it’s the opposite of what we want, right? Sometimes, life has us out here snatching the steering wheel back only minutes after placing it in His holy, nail-scarred hands.

Surrendering to the Lord means actively yielding our will, desires, and control to Him.

In times of war, surrender is seen as a sign of defeat, but that couldn’t be further from the truth from a biblical stance. Surrender is an act of profound trust, replacing our own plans with His and trusting that His plans for our lives are better than are own.

True, biblical surrender is entrusting every facet of our lives to the Lord on High: our relationships, careers, finances, and weaknesses.

The earliest act of biblical surrender is found in the book of Genesis. It’s a well-known story, portrayed on many a nursery wall: The story of Noah and the Ark.

God commanded Noah to build an ark. This was, quite literally, a tall order. And Noah did everything just as God commanded him (Genesis 6:22). In doing so, his family was spared from the flood and he went on to live an exceptionally full life.

Later in the same book, we encounter Abram (later Abraham). God commanded him to leave his country, his people, and his father’s house . . . and he did, going down in biblical history as the father of many nations (Genesis 12).

Exodus sees Moses surrendering his comfortable, affluent life in Egypt to lead God’s people out of captivity.

In the book of Luke, Mary’s surrender sets the foundation for the faith as we know it. Unwed and pregnant was a dangerous state to be in during Mary’s time. Young and engaged to be married, you know she had a hopeful idea in her mind of how her life would go. Yet upon her meeting with the angel Gabriel, she is quoted as saying “I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled.”

Mary surrendered, put her “yes,” on the table, and the Messiah was born.

And Jesus suffered. Despair. Anguish. He was deeply unsettled “to the point of death” over the fate awaiting Him. I’m going to be honest, it’s a side of Jesus I don’t often think about. It hurts to imagine the loving Savior I’ve come to know so pained, so broken. Weeping. Scared.

He was interested in a way out but ended His prayer with “Not My will but Yours” three times in the Garden of Gethsemane. (Matthew 26:39-44).

God the Son surrendered to God the Father.

And a surrendered heart produces an obedient life.

One of the most interesting things I’ve found during my biblical studies is the occurrence of “40 days.”

It rained for 40 days and 40 nights while Noah’s family was in the ark. (Side note: my favorite part of this story is in Genesis 7:16. “The Lord shut him in.” Noah and his family were completely at God’s mercy during this time, an act of complete and true surrender).

Moses spent 40 days and 40 nights on the mountain receiving the Ten Commandments and again when he later interceded on behalf of the sinful Israelites (Exodus 24:18, Deuteronomy 9:18).

The Promised Land was scouted for 40 days (Numbers 13:25).

Goliath taunted the Israelite army for 40 days before being defeated by the shepherd (and later king) David (1 Samuel 17:16).

The prophet Elijah traveled for 40 days and 40 nights to reach Mount Horeb (1 Kings 19:8).

Ninevah was given 40 days to repent before being overthrown (Jonah 3:4).

Jesus fasted and was tempted by the enemy for 40 days and 40 nights in the wilderness (Matthew 4:2, Mark 1:13, Luke 4:2).

Later, following His resurrection, Jesus appeared to His disciples for a 40 day period before ascending into heaven (Acts 1:3).

Lent, the period between Good Friday and Easter, is modeled after Jesus’s tempting in the wilderness, and is a roughly 40 day period where we surrender something—anything—to God.

But I’m telling you, friends, complete surrender to God requires no holiday or marked time on the calendar. So I’m challenging you, if you find yourself wrestling with God, a clashing of your will vs His, take 40 days and Lay. It. Down. Practice true, active surrender to the Father. We’ve seen what He can do with a single yes. We’ve seen what He can do in three days. Watch what He can do in 40.

Pray this prayer. “Just tell me what to do and I will do it, Lord. As long as I live, I’ll wholeheartedly obey” (Psalm 119:33-34 TLB)

God said David was a man after His own heart, and I don’t know about y’all, but I want Him to say the same about me, above all else.

Divine Purpose over Personal Desire.

No matter what. After all, God didn’t call us to be comfortable. He called us to be obedient.