Trust … and obey

Ecclesiastes 8:5a

Whoever obeys his command will come to no harm NIV

Trust and obey …

Two sure remedies for worry.

There’s an old hymn that I have sung and heard sung all my life, “Trust and obey, for there’s no better way, to be happy in Jesus, than to trust and obey.”

This is a song that is on of a variety of hymns that are usually sung at the point in the service that in my religion is called, “the invitation.”

At this point in the service, I am sometimes moved to pray for others who have not yet made the decision to follow Christ, or, I may be contemplating things that God has put on my heart as a result of the sermon, or, I might be thinking about all the things I have to do to get ready to teach Bible Study, or worse, just wondering what I’ll have for lunch.

Regardless, even though I’ve sung this song, maybe 50 times in my life (and that’s a pretty conservative estimate), I don’t think I’ve ever seen those words as clearly as I do this morning.

I find that I have a lot in common with the originator of this sentiment at this point in my life.  I did some quick research on the Internet.  Turns out, John Sammis, who wrote the song, was inspired by the testimony of a young man who ended his story with the words, “I’m not quite sure, but I’m going to trust and obey.”

Powerful words.

I looked up the rest of the hymn:

When we walk with the Lord, In the light of His word, What a glory He sheds on our way!

While we do His good will, He abides with us still, And with all who will trust and obey.

Trust and obey, for there’s no other way, To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

Not a burden we bear, Not a sorrow we share, But our toil He doth richly repay;

Not a grief or a loss, Not a frown or a cross, But is blest if we trust and obey.

But we never can prove, The delights of His love, Until all on the altar we lay;

For the favor He shows, For the joy He bestows, Are for them who will trust and obey.

Then in fellowship sweet, We will sit at His feet, Or we’ll walk by His side in the way;

What He says we will do, Where He sends we will go; Never fear, only trust and obey.

I’m not the first person to have faced uncertainty.  I am not the only one of God’s children who worries.

A dear friend said to me this morning that God is really teaching her to live in the moment.  She said that if she thinks only about her present, she is supremely happy with her circumstances.  The worries come only when she begins to look down the road ahead of her, where the future is all but clear.

We agreed that living in the moment was God’s intent for us.

So, on this gorgeous fall morning, I will enjoy the crisp air, and delight in the magnificent display of color that God has put all around me.  I will obey His commands, and I will trust that He has the future under control.

That’s what I’ll think about today.