“And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go... assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us....”
(Acts 16:10)
Paul is only one case of a great host of men and women, along with many youth, that immediately put shoe leather to God’s commands. Once this stalwart saint was confident something was God’s will, he was on the move. The old warrior practiced what he preached; he walked in the steps of his spiritual father Abraham who, “By faith...when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went” (Heb. 11:8). “Seeing is believing” is not true. Blind faith is always rewarded by clear sight.
My two great failings in my walk with God these many years have been: either I get ahead of Him; or else, I lag behind. When we’re confident something is His desire, we need to respond immediately, not procrastinate. Generally speaking, I find if one waits, he won’t respond! But beware of impulsive feelings that are the enemy of immediate obedience. The former has no sure support, the latter a firm foundation. Searching the scriptures, providential events, good council, thinking and praying it through, will bring a peace of mind and heart.
The Lord usually tests our prompt obedience in small matters. If we have proven ourselves to be faithful in these, then we move up the latter, so to speak. The subject we are discussing is of no small matter. Adam and Eve didn’t take it seriously. They, like many of God’s elect today, didn’t put a high priority on obedience. The Holy Writ tells us explicitly, “TO OBEY IS BETTER!” As the saying goes, “It doesn’t get better than this.” Obedience is even better than sacrifice. You can do the latter without the former, but if you perform the former, the latter follows.
“Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you.”
(Jer. 7:23)
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