Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God (KJV).
The obvious key to walking by faith is hearing the Word of God before a single step is taken; otherwise, it may be an act of presumption, which leads to dead works. But a key to hearing is having a willingness to hear what the Lord actually is saying. This brings us to another element: obedience. Obedience is believing what the Lord is saying with the intent to conform to His wishes out of heart of love. This means that in order to hear Him with clarity, we need to put away any preconceived ideas that may hinder His Word from being heard the way He intended. It means putting away our agendas. Sometimes what we have in mind is not what He has in mind; therefore, we need to stay open to correction -we need to be teachable. Here’s a simple illustration:
Acts 16:6-10 Now when they (Paul and Silas) had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia. After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not. And they passing by Mysia came down to Traos. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us. After he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavored to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them (emphases added, KJV).
If you continue to read chapter sixteen, you’ll find that they did indeed go into Macedonia and preach the Word. At one point, Paul and Silas were perhaps considering going to Asia to preach, but the Holy Spirit forbid them. They tried to go into Bithynia, but the Holy Spirit would not let them go. Paul and Silas did not go anyway, nor did they try to convince the Lord to allow them go -they obeyed. When they waited, the vision came -faith came. Have you ever thought on doing something and were convinced that it was the right thing to do, but it never came together no matter how hard you tried to make it happen? Did you discover that the Lord was saying, “No,” and you were missing it? Only to find out later that He had something else in mind. Sometimes we can bang our head on a wall trying to make something come to pass, with no results whatsoever. Frustrating! If we find our head is starting to ache from all that effort, it’s time to stop and seek the Lord.
Obedience does not tell God, “this is what I want to be, and this is what I want to do.” Obedience seeks out the will of the Lord with desire to conform to what He has in mind. As we delight ourselves in the Lord and seek out His will, He will plant in our hearts His desire. That is a reason we get that, “I feel called to do such and such.” That is also the time when we find our prayers are much more affective -we are lining up with His will and desire.
With obedience comes peace. The more we insist on our own agenda, and ignore the will of the Lord, the more miserable we will become. When we sing, “I worship You,” we are telling God that we are going to live a lifestyle that glorifies Him. Worship blesses God for Who He is, and it is exhibited in the way we live. It is not merely a slow thoughtful song we sing. An act of obedience is an act of worship, and when we worship Him in Spirit and in Truth, we will have fullness of joy. We are the most joyful, and the most happy when we walk in obedience by faith. We become far less weary when we do things on His terms. As it is written: “For he that is entered into His rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from His” (emphasis added, Hebrews 4:10, KJV)
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