One of the great missionary stories I remember learning about from my childhood was the story of Jim Elliot. He and his wife felt the call of God to take the Gospel to an unreached people in Ecuador. In 1956, Jim and four other men went in to tell the Huaorani people about Jesus. They were killed by the tribe. After two years passed, Jim’s wife felt like God wanted her to go to that same tribe and try again. She, their daughter and the sister of one of the slain men went back to the Huaorani tribe and shared the Gospel. Many people gave their heart to the Lord, including some who killed her husband.
In Joshua 5, the Israelites had crossed the Jordan and were headed toward Jericho for their first battle in the Promised Land. As Joshua was getting near the town, he saw a man with a sword in his hand. Joshua asked Him, “Are you with us or against us. He replied, “‘Neither one,’ he replied. ‘I am the commander of the Lord’s army.’ At this, Joshua fell with his face to the ground in reverence. ‘I am at your command,’ Joshua said. ‘What do you want your servant to do?’” (NLT) He then tells Joshua to march around the city for seven days. On the seventh day, they needed to march around it seven times and then shout. If they obeyed, the walls would come down. It might not have seemed like it would work, but God was looking for obedience through action in order to give the victory.
Isaiah 1:9 says, “If you have a willing heart to let me help you, and if you will obey me, you will feast on the blessings of an abundant harvest” (TPT). What God asks us to do doesn’t always make sense. We must remember that His ways are higher than ours, and His thoughts are higher too. He sees what we can’t. Obedience is an act of trust, especially when we don’t understand. However, when we do trust and obey, His blessings follow. I wish we could have an experience with an angel like Joshua, but most of us will be like Elisabeth Elliott and need to obey having only heard God speak to our heart. Are you willing to be obedient even when it doesn’t make sense? Are you willing to trust God for to bring down walls using His strategy rather than yours? If so, your obedience through action will yield the results only God can give.
Photo by Kid Circus on Unsplash
Devotions by Chris Hendrix 