Every believer needs to take the decision now and resolve to remain obedient to God even in difficult times.
Oftentimes, I have asked myself whether there are times
when obedience to God is impossible. I have wondered how those that find
themselves in situations of war and chaos manage to obey God and keep clean. I
have equally wondered how believers manage to obey God in situations where they
are alone, in situations where everybody around them is comfortable in
unrighteousness and yet, the saint has the imperative of obedience. Does obedience
to God often hurt?
A well-known believer was recently screened by the
Nigerian Senate for a ministerial position and he said during the session that
the political landscape of the nation is littered with banana peels and that
he’s got to thread very carefully. In situations where obeying God means
swimming against the tide and walking literary on banana peels, what will the
believer do?
First, we have to be aware of not only the joys of living in obedience, but also the challenges it poses to us because we live in a world that is rebellious to God and His ways. We have to internalize this fact that
Obedience to God does not always make us popular. It does not always make us
look humanly sensible. Obeying God often hurts us temporarily. It often interrupts our
ambitions and plans, makes us look like an enigma because most family members
and friends may fail to understand us and it often attracts sufferings.
Sometimes, a believer has to walk alone for a while. Now, does God vindicate
His people? YES, He does! Sometimes, He does it immediately in the believer’s
lifetime. Other times, He does it when the believer is no more. Sometimes, He
vindicates and brings explanations to a watching audience while at other times
He gives His reasons for His demand upon His own to the next generation. It is
also very important to note that there are sometimes understanding is kept
until when we get to heaven.
During the Kidnapping Crisis in the Southern Nigeria, I
heard a sad story of a pastor’s family that the kidnappers visited. They wanted to
carry the pastor himself but he was not around. They then asked the first son
to sleep with their mother, but he refused and was shot. When they asked the
second son to sleep with their mother, he hesitated but was persuaded by their
mother, the pastor’s wife. He slept with her and they still carried her away. Unfortunately, the boy committed suicide the next morning.
It is true that this is a very extreme case, and we
pray that God never allows us to be pushed to the wall like this. However like i have already noted, every believer needs to take the decision now, what to do in difficult times, for it when we resolve this way that grace and help are released.
We need to take the oath of loyalty and allegiance to our Lord, to obey Him
both in good and bad times. What will you do when obeying God means to put your
life on the line? What will you do when obeying God will bring about some
hurts, not just to you but also to those around you, who you love? What will you do when
obeying God will make you look foolish? You look for explanations to give but
cannot find and no one understands you? What will you do when to obey God means
to suffer loss?
I am well aware of the fact that this is not an easy
terrain. Some people may term people like us alarmists and believers that
always look at the negative and bad side of everything about Christianity. For
example, some time ago, I shared about the coming persecution that might come
upon the church, and a brother asked me to remove his name from the Evergreen
Word of Life Mailing List without any explanations. I equally believe in the
goodness of God. My problem with those that see only the good things that come
with salvation is that they do not want to accept the lordship and sovereignty
of Christ.
When God moves on to implement His sovereign plans, will our
response be that of obedience and submission to His eternal will or will it be
that of rebellion? Who are we to question God in the things He allows and not
allow in His eternal will which He mapped out before the world began? I agree that some
things that happen also are caused because of the Fall of Man and the presence
of sin. However, will everything always work for our pleasure or God’s pleasure? When
God’s pleasure clashes with our own pleasures, are we ready to submit and obey?
The more I read the Bible the more I see saints that
denied themselves, the more I see believers that obeyed God even when the times
were very dangerous. As I read stories of men who God used, I see men who were
totally sold out to Him and damned the views, values and opinions of the world
around them. The more I read the Bible, the more I see men that obedience to
God landed them into 'trouble'; men that obedience to God was very costly both to
them and those around them. It cost them cherished relationships, material
things, positions and comforts of this life. For some of them, they came out
like Joseph in Egypt, Daniel, Shedrach, Mishach, and Abednego in Babylon, and received
deliverance and were promoted in life. Meanwhile for others like Isaiah,
Jeremiah, many old prophets, James the brother of John and others listed in the
later part of Hebrews 11, obedience to God meant suffering and death.
We need to look at our lives and those around us. Are we
ready to be all that God wants us to be? Are we ready to obey God even if it
hurts? Are we ready to remain loyal to Him till the end?
