Trust and Obey
Trust is a funny word. It has lost a lot of meaning in the last 5 years since COVID. What do we trust? Who should we trust? What products or websites are trustworthy? I remember when I was growing up so many things were trustworthy- quality in stores, safety of food vendors, your neighbors watching your kids and disciplining them if they got out of hand. Where did we lose some of this? Can we strive to get it back?
For me, I have known the word trust since I was 6 years old and my dad would take me with him on Sunday nights to church where the song leader would ask for requests of hymns to sing. I know some of you can’t even think what that would look like. Picture an old small church with 50 people, likely dressed in something called doubleknit. I always asked my dad to request “Trust and Obey.” It is an old hymn written by John H. Sammis in 1886 who was a song leader for revivals in those days. He heard one man stand up one night and say, “I am not quite sure—but I am going to trust, and I am going to obey.” The song is one of the most sung at funerals to this day.
That hymn and those words, “But to trust and obey” have been in my heart and mind all of my life. When things get hard or I am starting something new, I worry a bit, look for answers in a few spots, and then most of the time come around to a place where I ultimately have to trust God that I am moving in the right direction and just obey. That is the harder word for me. OBEY. I am a middle kid, a self proclaimed rule breaker. I don’t like reading directions, staying quiet, finishing my plate, or waiting patiently for the doctor to call back. I like making things happen. Getting to it. Finding my own path. It is hard work to know you need to trust, but it is next level to actually act on it and obey.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not lean on your own understanding.”
Proverbs 3:5
Let me give you a couple of examples:
First example- In my early 20’s, God told me to move to a new city without knowing anyone to start my career. I had never moved anywhere before. Not even a different house. I trusted that God had something for me. And he did. I met friends who I am still in touch with, and I met my husband. I got a strong vision of the man I was to marry very early in the relationship. There were many factors that would make me question if that was really from God, including him not wanting more children. Having kids was my heart's desire. But, I trusted, and kept taking steps closer to him. We got married. Dave is the person in the vision God showed me. It just was 25 years later after many mountains and valleys.
Second example- I had been mentoring 2 girls who went to our church, and God gave me pokes to be ready if they ever needed more. That really confused me. `We had a daughter (my stepdaughter) in college and as I mentioned, Dave wasn’t interested in more kids. A few years later, God led us to help parent those two girls into adulthood. It was a lot of work, and not what I pictured, but I trusted God and the outcome was amazing for how God grew us as a couple. And, the women they turned out to be really makes me proud. He provided what we needed to make that happen.
I could share many more examples, but I will leave at that. There have been a lifetime of scenarios where I have had a decision before me, God asked me to trust him, and I obeyed and followed. The last piece of the puzzle that really needs to be put in place to keep walking in this “trust and obey life” is to RELY on him. That may be the biggest factor to success. You can trust, maybe even start to obey God’s promptings, but when you begin to rely on him to provide, to give you peace in the midst of a hard choice, that is when the real life with God begins.
“But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.”
Jeremiah 17:7
I continue to trust God to guide my life to be the best version of myself that I can be. I will obey him in where he wants me to go, how to live my life and who to care for in it. And I will rely on him for guidance, resources, and comfort when needed.
How do you navigate life? Do you use these words in how you live? Try one of the following ideas to explore this topic some more:
Who are the people you trust in your life? Like, really trust? Why are they trustworthy?
Have you tried trusting God with something in your life? Maybe a decision about your career? How to lead your family? With your finances?
What is one area you could focus on being willing to obey? Maybe it is driving the speed limit for a week? Maybe taking a class or reading a book that gives you direction. Follow what it says completely and see how you feel.
