Wholehearted Obedience

There’s a story of a construction worker who spent his entire career working for one builder. When it came time for him to retire, the owner of the company asked him to build just one more home as a favor to him. Reluctantly he agreed to build. As he worked on the house, his heart wasn’t in it. He began to cut corners instead of the usual craftsmanship he put into the homes he built. He used cheap materials and even covered up some shoddy work that he did. When the house was finished, he went to the boss to let him know and to ask if he could retire. The boss thanked him for doing the favor and also told him how much he appreciated his excellent craftsmanship and dedication through the years. As a thank you to him, the boss gave him the keys to the house the man just built. Immediately he thought of all the halfhearted work he had put into this home that was now his.

In 2 Chronicles 25, we read the story of King Amaziah. You probably haven’t heard of him, but when he took over as king, he followed the Lord. While he was preparing for battle, the Lord sent a prophet to tell him to change his strategy despite what it had already cost him. King Amaziah did what was asked of him by God and won the victory in that battle, but pride crept in. Verse 2 tells us a haunting caveat to his obedience. It says “Amaziah did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight, but not wholeheartedly.” His partial obedience led to a life of idolatry. His halfhearted commitment to God is a cautionary tale of someone who started out with good intentions, but ended up letting partial obedience and pride keep him from all the blessings God had for him.

Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” God’s call to us today is to serve and trust Him with our whole heart knowing it will empower us to full obedience. We must seek Him in every situation, and He will direct us. When we trust Him with our whole heart, he can use us completely. We can’t just go through the motions of following Him on the outside. We must surrender our hearts to Him as well. When we do, we will receive all the blessings He has in store for us and live a life that points others to Him.

Photo by Chang Duong on Unsplash