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Trust and Obey
TRUST AND OBEY
BY TRENT BARNETT
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The last verse of the classic hymn “Trust and Obey” ends with the line: “what He says we will do, where He sends we will go, never fear, only trust and obey.” What an amazing reminder of what our hearts posture should always be. For some, you’re there - following, trusting, obeying, wherever and whatever that looks like. But for many of us, we know that’s what our lives should look like, but we struggle to truly trust, to obey, and to follow wherever He leads.
In Matthew 14, Jesus appears to the disciples and calls Peter out of the boat. We often focus on what happens later, when Peter shifts his attention and begins to sink, but for now, let’s stick to what happens first. When the disciples saw Jesus walking on the water, Scripture says they were “terrified,” and “cried out in fear” (v. 26). Then when Jesus calls Peter to come out of the boat, Scripture simply says “Peter got out of the boat…” (v. 29) - no fear, no hesitation, just obedience. You see, OBEDIENCE TO CHRIST IS ITSELF AND ACT OF WORSHIP. Worship is ascribing worth to someone, and people don’t typically obey someone they see as having no value or worth. You recognize their value and respond based on that. Peter knew the value of Jesus, and responded accordingly - he got out of the boat, while the other disciples stayed. He trusted and acted in obedience when others were still sitting in the boat, fearful of what was taking place. He worshiped Jesus through his obedience.
If you asked these disciples, they would have all said of course they trusted Jesus. Yet, they didn’t act on that trust, at least not in this passage. They remained in the boat as passive observers. But when it comes to a genuine posture of worship, there is no such thing as a passive observer. You can go through the motions, you can even fake an appearance of “worship,” BUT WHEN GOD CALLS YOU TO STEP OUT OF THE BOAT, TO GO BEYOND YOUR COMFORT ZONE, TO SURRENDER TO HIS WILL OVER YOUR OWN, THAT STEP CAN ONLY BE TAKEN IN SURRENDER AND OBEDIENCE.
Jesus said in John 14:15, “If you love Me, you will obey My commands.” That’s what it all boils down to. For some of us, we say we love Jesus and follow Him, but when it comes to surrender, we try to keep a hold on our own desires, especially when those are at odds with His. But as Rick Warren has said, “partial obedience is disobedience.” Or, sometimes we commit to following Jesus, but first we want to tend to our own interests. Perry Noble has said, “Delayed obedience is disobedience.” Both of these quotes get to the fact that partial obedience, or a half-hearted commitment, isn’t really obedience or a commitment at all. We don’t want our spouse to be partially committed to us, right? How much more does Christ want a full commitment from us - an active, growing relationship with our Savior?
Jeff Henderson has said, “You’re either growing in your relationship with Christ or you’re drifting. There is no middle ground.” Peter’s step out of the boat was an amazing example of obedience to Christ. But then what happened? He stopped growing and started drifting, or sinking actually. When we stop obeying, we stop worshiping, and we start drifting - we start looking less and less like Christ. See, our relationship with Christ is a relationship in process. Our lives should be growing closer to Christ each day as we simply trust and obey. Let this be our daily prayer: “Lord, help us set aside fear and distraction. Lead us to step out of our boats in acts of worship.”
Trent Barnett and his wife Brittany Barnett
