I was reading in the book of 2 Kings this morning, and I have to say that, although I’ve read these portions of Scripture numerous times, this morning things popped out to me that I hadn’t picked up on before.  Thank you Spirit of God!  (I’ve included the Scripture passages at the very bottom if ya wanna give it a read.) 

In the past, I’ve always focused on the link between obeying God and loving God. I got that principle from John 14:15, which says, “If you love Me, you will obey what I command”.  Can’t get any clearer than that, huh?

Well, one of the things I gleaned today from my study is that, not only is there a link between obedience and love, there is also a direct link between obedience and TRUST. Check it out…

In 2 Kings 17:13, God warned Israel and Judah to… 

• Turn from the evil they were doing (they were worshiping idols, sacrificing their children to pagan gods, worshiping the stars, just to name a few).
• Choose obedience to His commands.

Check out their response in verse 14,  “…they WOULD NOT LISTEN” (obey). God went on to describe them as “just as stiff-necked as their fathers, who DID NOT TRUST in The Lord their God.” 

Then in 2 Kings 18, as it describes King Hezekiah, it says that he “did right in the eyes of The Lord” by removing all the pagan idolatry from the land. It goes on to further describe him this way in verse 5, “Hezikiah TRUSTED in The Lord…he held fast to The Lord and did not cease to follow Him; he kept the commands of The Lord had given Moses…” 

OBEDIENCE SHOWS TRUST.
DISOBEDIENCE SHOWS DISTRUST.

Obedience shows trust.  Disobedience shows distrust.  That may pinch your conscience (I know it did mine), but there’s no other way to read that. When we choose to disobey, our disobedience reveals that we don’t really trust God. I am not liking the sound of that at all because I know I fail the Lord and disobey Him on a daily basis, and I’d like to be able to say that I trust God.  But the Word doesn’t lie.  There is a direct connection between disobedience and distrust.  Oh Lord, forgive me.

As I was mulling this over, God brought to my attention that He has provided two motivators when it comes to choosing to trust Him. If one doesn’t propel you toward obedience, the other should.  Check it out…

•  I am motivated to trust God because I know that, as a result of my obedience, He will work things for my good as I love and obey Him and work to fulfill His Kingdom purposes here on earth.  (Example:  the consequences of Hezikiah’s trust and obedience were that the Lord was with Him and that he was successful in whatever he undertook. –2 Kings 18:7)
•  I am motivated to trust God because I know that when I choose to go my own way, He will allow me to suffer the consequences of those wrong choices. (Example: The consequences of Israel and Judah’s distrust and disobedience were that they were rejected by The Lord, they were afflicted, they were given over into the hands of plunderers, and ultimately they were thrust from God’s presence. Nope, definitely not good…)

As I’m preparing to put my journal away for today, God brought to mind the words of the old hymn, Trust and Obey, written in 1887 by John H. Sammis.

When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word,
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will, He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.
Refrain:
Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

Really kinda sums it all up, doesn’t it?  I pray that as the tune of this old song resonates in my mind throughout today, I will be ever aware of the choices I am making and what those choices reveal about the condition of my heart and mind. 

~~~Scripture passages~~~

The Lord warned Israel and Judah through all his prophets and seers: “Turn from your evil ways. Observe my commands and decrees, in accordance with the entire Law that I commanded your ancestors to obey and that I delivered to you through my servants the prophets.”  But they would not listen and were as stiff-necked as their ancestors, who did not trust in the Lord their God. (2 Kings 17:13, 14 NIV)

They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their ancestors and the statutes he had warned them to keep. They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless. They imitated the nations around them although the Lord had ordered them, “Do not do as they do.” They forsook all the commands of the Lord their God and made for themselves two idols cast in the shape of calves, and an Asherah pole. They bowed down to all the starry hosts, and they worshiped Baal. They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire. They practiced divination and sought omens and sold themselves to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, arousing his anger. (2 Kings 17:15-17 NIV)

In the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, Hezekiah son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign….He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father David had done. He removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. (It was called Nehushtan.) Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. He held fast to the Lord and did not stop following him; he kept the commands the Lord had given Moses. (2 Kings 18:1, 3-6 NIV)