There's an old hymn that I've been going over in my mind the last couple weeks and I can't seem to shake it:
Trust and obey
for there's no other way
to be happy in Jesus
than to trust and obey
Ever heard it? I imagine that if you're like me and grew up in the C of C, you've heard it a hundred times. I must confess, I've never really been a fan of the tune. I don't know why, perhaps because it was too slow? I know that's a really stupid and childish reason not to like a song, but it's about all I can come up with. Anyway, I never really listened to the words, never requested it at the Sunday night sing alongs, and I always sighed loudly when someone else did.
Well, ever since the end of March, this song has been following me around. I heard a speaker on campus at Rez Week (a week long outreach event sponsored by a number of the Christian groups at UT). The speaker (Jason Ma) challenged us on obeying Jesus, giving our lives 100% to him and actually doing what he tells us to do, not worrying about the outcome. Not a new lesson, not a new idea, not a new sermon. A very good one, but one I (and perhaps you too) have heard a thousand times. And yet it was like I was hearing it for the first time.
Trust God and obey what He calls you to do, it's the only way to be happy. This is not sitting well with me these days. I don't often connect or think about my happiness having anything to do with my obedience to Christ; if anything, it's more likely the other way around --- I ask Christ to provide for me, help me, do what I ask --- and when He doesn't "come through", I am not happy.
And so this song has been playing in my head:
Trust and obey
for there's no other way
to be happy in Jesus
than to trust and obey
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Asking questions, looking for answers, hoping in Christ...
2 comments:
I am glad you are blogging again! I agree, I am not always good at connecting my obedience with my happiness. Thanks for the reminder!
Why is it so hard to obey sometimes? Why does the right decision seem so easy and the outcome so plain, but I choose to do otherwise? I know what God wills to do in a situation, but a part of me (often the deciding part) thinks I should do it my way. I think for me it comes down to the first word of the tune...trust. It is easy for me to obey when I know I'm going to be taken care of. The funny thing is, I'm always taken care of by God when I trust him. Still, there are times when the past is not good enough to convince me that the decision to obey God will work out best in the end.
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