
“God calls us to obedience not results.”
This was a quote from yesterday’s sermon that stood out to me. The pastor shared a story of a volunteer in the young adults group who shared Christ with a homeless man. The homeless man said no and walked away. The pastor realized this volunteer wasn’t sharing a story of a failed attempt at evangelism but instead, he shared an example of obedience.
I remembered a time when God asked me to knock on the door of a former friend’s house. I even had an image of the door. This was important because she was moving soon and the door I saw was her current door. I knew God wanted me to try to mend this friendship one more time before she moved. I didn’t want to. I soooooo didn’t want to. Out of obedience I knocked. She invited me in and we actually had a good conversation. However, I left the ball in her court and told her I’d wait to hear from her. It never went anywhere. I felt I had failed. Yesterday, during church, I realized I didn’t fail – I obeyed. Obedience is what God wanted, not results.
Wow – that is so freeing. Is God asking you to do something that you know won’t work? Maybe you’ll be surprised and it will. Or maybe it won’t. The result isn’t important. It’s the obedience.
Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. ~ John 14:23 NIV
But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you: to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to keep his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.” ~ Joshua 22:5 NIV
Just this week, God nudged me to call someone. I did. No results yet but I did my part. I obeyed. I can rest in the fact that I followed His lead. What happens next is up the the person and how God wants to handle it. I don’t have to wonder or worry about the results.
I encourage you to discover where God is nudging you to act in obedience: start a small group, call a friend, forgive someone, write a note of apology, pray for someone, and so on. Do it. Obey. What happens after isn’t important. The results aren’t what God wants – He wants you to obey, even if it’s hard or doesn’t make sense. Obey. The results are His to be concerned with.
Dream Big! Pray Big!