Faith and Obedience

Last time I spoke with you I shared how we were handling a cancer scare with Marissa. The main emotion we were dealing with at that time was anxiety and fear of the unknown. I shared with you how we turned to prayer and Scripture for reassurance during our times of trial.

I am happy to report that the cancer was benign and we did indeed rise up after that experience stronger in our faith and thankful for our blessings.  The blessings have continued to flow, but so have the trials. Recently I got laid off from work. Again. Since we got married 3 ½ years ago, this is the 4th time I’ve gotten laid off. Note to any youth out there. Avoid careers in the construction industry.

Since I’ve had a little extra time on my hands, one of the blessings I’ve enjoyed is some quiet time early in the morning to study Scripture.  Each morning I get up about 6:30, pour myself a nice hot cup of coffee, grab my study Bible and sit outside on our cozy little porch. 

In the past I’ve spent most of my study time reading books of the New Testament. So I decided that this would be a good time to get familiar with Old Testament writings.  Two Books in particular have provided some great insight into the trials we are currently experiencing, and I’d like to share them with you tonight.

In the Book of Genesis, I was studying the story of Noah and the Ark.

What if we were asked by God to build an ark? Can you imagine what it must have been like to be assigned that project? We’re talking a boat that is about the size of Qualcomm stadium. 1 ½ football fields long x half a football field wide and 4 stories tall.

I wonder what those next moments were like after Noah received the instructions from God and the logistics of the task began to set in. I can imagine what would have been going through my head.

Let’s look first at the materials. There weren’t any Home Depots back then, so we’re going to have to work from scratch. By my amateur estimates we’re looking at cutting down about 2,000 trees to produce about 30 to 40,000 pieces of milled lumber.

Now let’s look at the labor pool. We’ve got me and my three sons. Really God? Do you know how long this is going to take us? This is going to take like a hundred years!

OK, let’s assume we get this boat built. What about the animals you speak of LORD? How are we going to catch all of those animals? That crazy Australian guy got taken out by a fish. How are me and my three sons going to bring in lions and tigers and bears? (oh my!)

And then assuming we catch all those critters, how are we going to get them into the boat? I can’t get my dog to come when I call him without dangling a piece of bacon in front of him. I’m going to need a LOT of bacon LORD!

What about food? We’re going to be on that boat for a long time, we’re going to need a ton of food. And that’s just for my son Ham. He eats like a horse. What about all those animals? Some of them are meat eaters. How are we going to keep them from eating each other … or us???

And who’s going to clean up all that poop????

Clearly, the logistics of such an undertaking would overwhelm us before we even began. We’d be paralyzed by the how-to’s.  When we’re faced with obstacles in our lives, it’s easy to get bogged down. Paralyzed. Defeated before we begin.

God gave Noah directions for building the ark. God didn’t burden him with all of the other details, so Noah didn’t waste time worrying about them. Noah didn’t get paralyzed. He didn’t get overwhelmed. He obeyed God.

Noah shouted out to his family “Japheth, Shem, Ham, grab an axe boys. We got some work to do!”

Noah had faith and trusted God to handle the details that were beyond his ability.

Faith and obedience.

I am unemployed. I could easily get caught up in what happens if my unemployment runs out before I find work? What happens if my truck breaks down? How am I going to take care of my family if we’re homeless? Will I ever eat Cinnabuns again?  I can easily lapse into despair.

But just like all of the other trials we’ve encountered in our short time together, Marissa and I have faith that God will provide for us. Our needs will be met. We don’t need to worry about those things we can not control. That frees us up to focus on what we can control.

We strive to keep our faith and to be obedient to God. I try to not get overwhelmed with all the details. I try not to stress over those details I can’t control (like the economy). I try to be a good steward of the extra time with my family that God blessed me with.  We rely on faith and obedience to keep our home a place where God is revered above all else. We strive for faith and obedience to make sure we are presenting a testimony to others that is pleasing to God.

The worse thing we can do is to take God out of the picture and try to move forward on our own power. To have faith without obedience is like a clanging gong. We’re just making noise. It doesn’t work. The minute we lose focus and drift off course, God wastes no time in letting us know.

Over the years, we’ve been frequently blessed by the kindness and charity of friends and family.  This brings me to the other Book of the Old Testament I enjoyed reading. The book of Ruth.

Naomi and Ruth returned to Judah as two widows without any means of support for themselves. Without husbands to provide for them, they had to rely on the charity of others.  Upon entering the land of Judah, Naomi sends Ruth out to glean from the fields owned by a relative named Boaz.

Gleaning was first mentioned in the Book of Leviticus chapter 19, verses 9 and 10:

“When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner”

Gleaning was the earliest form of welfare. The farmers set aside a portion of their harvest for the sustenance of the poor. The big difference between gleaning and modern-day welfare was that with gleaning you gathered up the left-over harvest. The farmer didn’t deliver it to your door. You had to make the effort.

Naomi didn’t arrive in Judah and head straight for the Gleaning Department, fill out some forms and then wait on the groceries to be delivered. She sent out Ruth to gather the harvest. It was a humble and yet honorable way to receive charity. The poor were more than willing to labor in the field to gather the harvest.

I believe that God wants to see us make an effort. I’m not saying living a life of works to earn His blessings and his grace. Those are free gifts of God that we could never earn by our efforts.  But I do believe it pleases him when we are obedient to His Word and demonstrate our faith to God in tangible ways. It’s all part of the sanctification process. It’s all part of having faith and being obedient.

When the Israelites crossed the river Jordan after 40 years in the desert, God spoke through Moses and told them that He was going to hand over all the land to them as just as He had promised Abraham. God led the Israelites into battles against armies larger and more powerful then they were, and yet the opposition fell. However, the Israelites had to fight the fight. God could have caused plagues over the lands and allowed the Israelites to just walk on in and take over. But he didn’t. He wanted to see their faith. He wanted to see their obedience. And I believe He still wants to see that from us today.

When I was in Jr. High I remember a girl was running for class president. Everyone who was running for office made posters asking people to vote for them and posted them all over the school grounds. This one girl did not put up any posters. Someone asked her why she wasn’t promoting herself. She said that if it was God’s will for her to be class president she would be elected. She didn’t make an effort. She didn’t get elected.

Even though it would be over 30 years from that day before I came to have a personal relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I remember thinking way back then that she must be missing something. Her approach seemed to be lazy and apathetic. Today it makes perfect sense to me. She had faith but lacked obedience. She didn’t take her sword into battle, so why should she win the war?

Faith and obedience are not separate options. Obedience is an outward sign of our inward faith. When we have faith in God, obedience naturally grows to fulfill our heart-felt desire to please God.

Obedience without faith may make us a good citizen, but it does not save us.   Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us that “For by grace you have been saved by faith: and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast.”

We can’t just pray for rain and sit waiting for it to happen. We must pray for rain and then prepare our fields to receive it, knowing that the rain will come. That’s faith and obedience.

So how do we apply this knowledge and practice of faith and obedience to trials we face?

Our human nature tempts us to withdraw from our circumstances when we face trials. To withdraw from our ministries. To cut back on our tithing. To put our needs before others. But that isn’t being obedient to the Lord. That isn’t having faith that He will provide for our needs. We over come our trials by practicing faith and obedience to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs on your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore, you are of more value than many sparrows.” (Matthew 10:29-31)

Our GOD is a loving God full of grace and wanting nothing but the best for us. We must have faith that our LORD will lead us through the valley of the shadow of death and obedience to make the journey if that’s where He wants us.