March 30, 2020 (Monday)
For the Lord God is our sun and our shield. He gives us grace and glory. The Lord will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right. O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, what joy for those who trust in you (Psalm 84:11-12 NLT). Make thankfulness your sacrifice to God, and keep the vows you made to the Most High (Isaiah 50:14).
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“Trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey.” Those words from a wonderful hymn sort of sum up our relationship with the Lord. We trust Him. We obey Him. It is “both..and” and not “either..or.” Those two actions go together like the two sides of a coin. Makes me think of the song, “Love and Marriage,” which reveals that “they go together like a horse and carriage. You can’t have one without the other.”
The same Scripture that tells us we are saved by grace through faith and not of works goes on to say that “we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for the purpose of performing good work.” (Ephesians 2 paraphrased).
So we trust. We believe in Jesus. We are committed to Jesus not only as our Savior but also as our Lord.
There it is: “trust and obey.” My acknowledgment of Christ as my Savior produces obedience to Him.
I am born into the human family. In time I begin to realize that I have sinned and come short of the glory of God. The Bible tells me that “the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life.” It also informs me that God loves me and has provided a way for me to be saved. It says plainly, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved” (Acts 16:31). Praise God for his grace.
When I accepted Christ as Savior, I was born again, this time into the family of God. According to 2 Corinthians 5:17, I am now a new person; the old life is gone and the new life begins. This new life is different from the old. Now the Holy Spirit lives in me and leads me to a new kind of life that includes “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.”
When we trust and obey, we experience joy unspeakable and full of glory. As Barney Warren’s 1900 hymn says, “It is joy unspeakable and full of glory; oh, the half has never yet been told.”
TRUST AND OBEY
Words: John H. Sammis
Music: Daniel B. Towner
1887
Chorus:
Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.
Verses:
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.
Not a shadow can rise, not a cloud in the skies,
But His smile quickly drives it away;
Not a doubt or a fear, not a sigh or a tear,
Can abide while we 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 blessed 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.
p.s. – I discovered this video yesterday and thought you might be interested in what these folks did. Thirty one singers stayed at home in Nashville and sang from 31 different homes. This was an article in the Baptist Standard.
(Our pastor, Dr. Scott Jones, serves on the board of The Baptist Standard).