Things happen when we walk forward in obedience to God.

We want a warranty or a guarantee before we move, but God calls us to step out in faith. We want the end result; God asks us to trust Him with the end result.  When we are busy obeying Him, He works.

This is the picture we see in the story of the ten lepers in Luke 17:12 – 19.

Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem, and on the way, He passed through Samaria and Galilee.  He entered into a village there, and ten lepers were standing away from the crowd. They cried to Him for mercy.

Jesus heard them, but He did not immediately heal them or promise them healing. Instead, He gave them a task.

Luke 17:¹⁴ And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests.

Jesus could have spoken right then and healed them, but that is not what happened. They could have questioned Him, asked Him to give them something else to do, but they did not. They began the journey to see the priests,

and a miracle happened.

Luke 17: 14 And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.

Do you see that? “As they went”. They acted in obedience, and Jesus healed them as they went.

There is more to this story, so I hope you read it for yourself, but I want to focus on that phrase “as they went”.

Christ followers are tasked with obedience, even when it does not make sense to our human minds. We are tasked with obedience to God, even when we do not see immediate results.

God works in my obedience.

He has called me to be kind, though others may not be.

He has called me to trust Him when darkness is all around.

He has called me to continue in prayer when I don’t see an answer.

He has called me to go and tell, be a light, when I may not see the fruit that I expect.

Joshua and Israelites marched around Jericho for seven days before they saw any action. Noah worked on the ark for 120 years without a convert. David hid in caves for long seasons before he was finally able to claim his rightful place as king. Abraham was almost one hundred years old before Isaac, the son of promise, was born.

God’s timetable is not mine, and I am not in charge of the outcomes (sometimes this is hard for me to accept).

God has called me to faithfully walk His way in obedience to His word, knowing that He loves me and will bring His best to pass.

This new year, I will face situations I do not understand and trials that are not comfortable. I do not have to fix every problem; I am called to obey God, one step, one moment at a time.

Obedience – it’s a full-time job for me.

As I obey, God will do the work, in hearts, in lives, in the world.

I can trust Him with that.

Micah 6:⁸ He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

Photo – Cloudlight, Courtesy of Leslie Moon