Do You Trust Me?
We’ve all been asked this question before.
When someone asks us to step out beyond our comfort zone, there is risk involved. We have to analyze their intentions and choose whether or not to trust them.
If we believe that someone has bad intentions, we won’t trust them. As a result, we won’t do what they’ve asked us to. However, if we believe that someone has good intentions and loves us, we can trust them and carry out what they want for us.
I’ve realized that when it comes to our walk with God, we find ourselves in the same situation.
God has things that He tells us to do in His Word, and most Christians seem to think that they need to work up enough love for Him to obey Him. We often think, “If I just loved God more, I could obey Him better.”
However, our trust in and obedience to God really are no different than they are for other people.
Christ tells us in John 14:15, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” We also know from 1 John 4:19 that “We love Him, because He first loved us.” These verses show us that we don’t obey God primarily out of our love for Him.
We obey God because we have a proper understanding of His love for us.
God tells us of His love for us and goodwill toward us in Scripture. Because He wants the best for us, we can trust and obey Him when He commands us to leave our comfort zone.
This “uncomfortable” obedience could be exemplified in anything from giving a homeless man money when we barely have enough for ourselves, to telling the truth even when it could get us in trouble.
When we understand God’s love for us, obeying Him in difficult circumstances becomes much easier.
When I started viewing my obedience to God like this, everything changed. I went from trying to work up love for God on my own to resting in His benevolent love for me.
Today, let your obedience to Christ not be based on your flawed effort to love Him, but on His amazing love for you.
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