Immediate Obedience: The Fruit of Faith

On that very day Abraham [did]… as God told him. – Genesis 17:23

Instant obedience is the only kind of obedience there is, for delayed obedience is disobedience.

Each time God calls upon us to do something, He is offering to make a covenant with us. Our part is to obey, and then He will do His part to send a special blessing.

The only way to be obedient is to obey instantly – “On that very day,” as Abraham did. I know we often postpone doing what we know to do, and then later do it as well as we can. Certainly this is better than not doing it at all. By then, however, it is at best only a crippled, disfigured, and partial attempt toward obedience. Postponed obedience can never bring us the full blessing God intended or what it would have brought had we obeyed at the earliest possible moment.

What a pity it is how we rob ourselves, as well as God and others, by our procrastination! Remember, “On that very day” is the Genesis way of saying, “Do it now!” – from Messages for the Morning Watch

Martin Luther once said, “A true believer will crucify, or put to death, the question: ‘Why?’ He will simply obey without questioning.” And I refuse to be one of those people who “unless… [I] see miraculous signs and wonders… will never believe” (John 4:48). I will obey without questioning.

Ours not to make reply,

Ours not to reason why,

Ours but to do and die.

Obedience is the fruit of faith; patience is the early blossom on the tree of faith. – Christina Rossetti

Excerpted with permission from Streams in the Desert by L. B. E. Cowman, copyright Zondervan.

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Your Turn

How convicting! It’s easy to make excuses and to delay obeying. It’s so tempting to wait instead of doing what God said right away. Is this a struggle for you, too? Join the conversation on our blog! We’d love to hear from you about obeying the Lord right away! ~ Devotionals Daily