“That can’t possibly be God talking to me. That doesn’t make sense, it’s not logical.” Have you ever caught yourself thinking that or something like it? I have and unfortunately I do it quite often. But this week the Lord reminded me that obedience to Him takes faith. Always. And faith means we believe even though we may not understand. Consider these two passages from Luke:
When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” ~ Luke 5:4-5
After these things He went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he left all, rose up, and followed Him. ~ Luke 5:27-28
Simon and Levi, also known as Peter and Matthew, obeyed Jesus even though what He asked them to do wasn’t logical. Simon was even bold enough to point it out and explain how illogical Jesus’ request was. Levi had a job and a home and gave it all up immediately. Crazy, right? Maybe, but their obedience paid off. Simon ended up catching a boat load of fish and they both ended up one of the 12 disciples. That’s pretty awesome!
Later in Luke 6, Jesus compares those who listen and obey Him to those that hear but do not obey.
“But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say? Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the floods arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great.” ~ Luke 6:46-49
How are you holding up in the storms of life? We all face them whether we are obeying God or not. If we are listening to and obeying our Lord, then we can stand strong against any struggle that comes our way. But if we are not obeying then, 1) the struggle brought by the storm will beat us down and ruin us and 2) the storm may actually reveal that Jesus isn’t really our Lord.
Jesus asks bluntly, “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?” Strong’s Concordance defines the word Lord as “the owner; one who has control of the person, the master.” If we are going to call Jesus our Lord than we must acknowledge His authority in our lives. And to acknowledge His authority, sometimes we must obey even against logic.
Are you obeying even when there seems to be no logic behind His request? Are you acknowledging His authority? Is Jesus really your Lord?
When you doubt what He is asking or when you have a hard time seeing His logic remember this:
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” ~ Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)
