As New-Covenant Believers we obey and cooperate not because we have to, as a servant does, but because in doing so we give the Lord a gift of our love, honor and trust as sons and daughters. Our obedience is a willing submission of our desires to His—an act of love within family.
We hear His heart and desires in the assignments He sets before us and we come into agreement with what He wants to do. In doing so, we willingly submit our desires to His and obey. We obey and cooperate, not because we have to, but because we understand that in doing so we give Him a gift by our obedience. We say “yes” willingly, because we know by experience that He is faithful and trustworthy.
| “God is calling us all up into a new time of commitment“ |
He knows best. He is full of wisdom, He sees all possibilities and makes provision for them; He is the greatest strategist of all. He will never ask us to do something that we cannot do with His miraculous help and provision. He knows that we can indeed do all things through Him who strengthens us (Phil. 4:13). We know that when we cooperate with Him, He unleashes a torrent of Spirit resources from the throne of Heaven to get the job done.
Have Faith, Be Strong and Courageous!
Many of the things that God will ask of us in the days ahead will seem huge, and will take radical faith—some would say blind faith. But faith is not blind, just as obedience is not blind. Walking in faith is based on the foundation of trust. We can step out in faith because we know that God is faithful and will keep His word to us because He has proved it time and time again, in our own lives and in the lives of those who have gone before us. He will be as faithful to us in this instance as He has been before.
Faith steps out knowing that He can be depended on to keep His word, to provide all that we need to get the job done, and that He will often do so miraculously. Knowing these things, our faith and obedience is not blind, it is based on the proven faithfulness and trustworthiness of God.
The harvest that is ahead of us will not happen because of confidence in ourselves and our abilities; it will happen because of confidence in God and courage on our part. Courage is a key word for the season we are entering into. Many times in Scripture, as God gave His people new assignments, He said to them, “Be strong and courageous” (Deut. 31:6; Josh. 1:6; 1 Chron. 28:20; Pslm. 27:1; Pslm. 56:3-4; Isa. 41:10,13; Rom. 8:15; 1 Cor. 16:13; 2 Cor. 4:8-11; 2 Tim. 1:7; Heb. 13:5-6; 1 Jhn. 4:18).
To step into the promises of God will take courage, but that courage is not based on an uncertain hope that things will work out. We can have courage because we know that we do not enter this alone; God is with us every step of the way. He will fight with us and for us, He will work alongside us, and will do what we cannot. (Photo via Unsplash)
God is bringing us into a time of radical harvest that will call for radical faith and obedience. It is time to step up into a greater place of maturity and trust in Him, and as we do, we will see the biggest promises that we’ve ever received from Him fulfilled before our eyes, and the greatest harvest mankind has ever taken part in. Let us not be those who miss out on entering into the fullness of our promises because of disobedience; instead, let’s be those who with faith and endurance receive the promises, because we trust and obey. (To Subscribe to the Elijah List subscribe here.)
God bless you,
Lyn Packer
XP Ministries New Zealand