Walking in Full Obedience
“Whoever serves Me must follow Me; and where I am, my servant will also be. My Father will honor the one who serves Me.” – John 12:26
We cannot serve Jesus without following Jesus in full obedience. We lay aside our wants and preferences to become obedient to Him. God does not want partial obedience; He wants full and complete obedience. We cannot cherry-pick the commands we want to obey and simply ignore the rest.
Not too long ago, I was in full submission seeking the Lord for answers to a situation that I knew I could no longer handle on my own. I was fasting, praying, and pressing in to hear His voice. Have you abandoned me, Lord? I can’t hear you. While I was desperate and distressed, but determined to hear from Him, He spoke to me through Scriptures:
“So, humble yourselves under the mighty power of God and at the right time, He will lift you up in honor” – 1 Peter 5:6
“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer” – Psalm 19:14
“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” – Ephesians 4:32
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding” – Proverbs 3:5
Humble myself, watch my words, be kind, forgive, and trust in You. Okay, Lord, I think I can do that. Then, in all of God’s infinite wisdom, He says to me, “You’ve lost your first love, see how far you’ve fallen” (Rev. 2:4-5). This pierced through my heart, a wake-up call. I knew exactly what He was telling me. With the busyness of life, I was serving the Lord in one direction, while my husband was serving the Lord in the other. We had drifted apart, like a rift in a valley. We got so busy and caught up in serving others, we neglected to serve one another. We needed to be serving each other first, as we did at the beginning of our marriage, and together with God, serving the kingdom. Our hearts were in the right place, but not in the right order.
Breakthrough! I said, “This is great Lord! Now you have to tell him. He’s the leader of the house, he’s the husband, and he needs to hear this from you, so he can do it.” Have you ever tried to tell God how things should be done? He must have been looking down from heaven laughing at me; silly girl. Not once, not twice, but three times on different days and different sermons/meetings, He confirmed what He had spoken to me— to me, not my husband. Why me, Lord?
He would remind me of the previous scriptures that He showed me in my desperation: humble myself, watch my words, be kind, forgive, and trust Him on this. God said, “Lay aside your wants and preferences and just be obedient. If you are going to follow Me, then you need to follow Me fully.” We cannot serve Jesus without being obedient to everything He has called us to do, even if we think someone else should be the one to do it. He appointed me to get it done, but I was still wrestling with God. He said, “Hear Me and move, receive it and believe.”
Sometimes God asks us to do things that we might not understand – why me, right? He chooses us to do the things we do not want to do or do not feel confident in doing because He wants to know how much we truly trust Him. Trusting in God requires total confidence and dependence on Him and His abilities, not ours. Don’t rely on your own understanding, He said, but trust in His unfailing power and love. Because His ways, His plans, are better than ours, and He will always work things out for our good and for His glory. He is also doing a greater work in me – in you. He is the source of our strength. Do you trust Him – fully? I’ve had to ask myself this question as well. Yes, Lord, I trust you, but I’m afraid of the unknown. This is where we are tested, this is where the rubber meets the road.
What does it mean to be in complete obedience to the Lord? It simply means hearing the word of God and acting on it. Aligning our will to God’s will, doing what God has asked us to do, and completely surrendering to His authority. We must cultivate a life of surrender with a servant's heart as we journey alongside Jesus. Obedience demonstrates our faith and trust in God. Obedience is a major key to unlocking the promises and blessings of the abundant life God has for you and me (Deuteronomy 5:33).
Fully surrender, You say. Help me, Father, hold my hand and protect my heart. I cannot do this alone. James 4:8 says, “Come close to God [with a contrite heart] and He will come close to you.” Yes, I will surrender to You and trust You. I will follow You and serve You wholeheartedly. Free from all reservation or hesitation – here I am Lord, use me.