Trust and Obey - Alisha Becker
My husband presented this theme to our church in January of 2024. Little did I know that this theme, which is actually a song, would hold such a deep place in my heart.
A little history lesson first behind the song Trust and Obey I thought was quite neat. “A man named John Sammis observed that many believers seemed bogged down, unable to achieve victory or even make progress in their Christian lives. Part of the problem was they made their faith complicated. They were so focused on this complexity that they had a hard Jme living in victory.
Pondering this issue, a friend told Sammis about a young man he had met who seemed unusually joyful, unusually victorious. The secret? He admired he did not understand every complicated theological doctrine. But what made a difference was the simplicity of his faith. His comment: “I’m going to trust, and I’m going to obey.”
Inspired by this insight, Sammis wrote a hymn called “Trust and Obey.” He described how just walking with God sheds clarifying light on our way. He discovered how our lives change as we simply “do His good will.” God abides with us and with all who will trust and obey. The message was simple: “There’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.’” (h:ps://inspiraJon.org/daily-devoJonal/trust-and-obey)
So much happened in 2024 in my family, church and spiritual walk. Along the way, I sang that song over and over and God continually walked me through like He always does. The song says…
Vs 1: 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,
Vs 2: Not a shadow can rise not a cloud in the skies, but His smile quickly drives it away not a doubt nor a fear, not a sigh nor a tear can abide while we trust and obey.
Vs 3: Not a burden, we bear not a sorrow we share, but our toil He doth richly repay not a grief nor a loss, not a frown nor a cross but is blest if we trust and obey
Vs 4: But we never can prove the delights of His love until all on the altar we lay for the favor He shows, and the joy He bestows are for them who will trust and obey
Vs 5: Then in fellowship sweet, we will sit at His feet or we walk by his side in the way what He says we will do, where He sends, we will go, never fear only trust and obey
Chorus: Trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey
God puts us through trials in our lives for a reason. Though we may never understand why we are simply to Trust that the Lord knows what is best for us and Obey His Word!
If you take that song verse by verse and truly think about the words and apply them to your life it will give you an unmeasurable amount of peace.
We will always face hardships in this life, but His smile can quickly drive all our fear and doubts away. By trusting and obeying the Lord, it keeps our focus on Him and helps us to continue giving our burdens to Him. And when we do this, He gives us peace!
That 4th verse just sticks out to me so much and it is just so convincing! Until we give our ALL to God, we will never be able to see the joy that He can bestow or the favor that He shows because it is only for those who Trust and Obey Him!
This is an area we lack so much. Our world tends to care so much about themselves and their status and what they can do to benefit themselves. When you get saved and become a child of God, He wants your all. He doesn’t want you to just give Him all the things that are easy for you to give up but also all the things like finances, relationships, health issues, career…and the list can go on. God wants us to give it all to Him. We take so much into our own hands when things are going well and try to just handle things our own way because we think we know best, but when trials come, and things start to get messy we go and reach out to God expecting Him to take care of things right away and in the way we want Him to. Well, friend, I hate to break it to you, but that is not how it works. The Bible says in Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” We are to put our faith in the Lord and trust that He knows what is best for our life and when we obey His Word, it clearly states that He WILL direct our path.
This last year was especially hard for my husband’s family as they lost a very close family member in the most horrific way. The day we got the news is a day that I will never forget. It was such a gut-wrenching feeling. As we all came together that day just crying and hugging one another, I was so encouraged by the mother of the one who had just passed. She stood up and said “I gave my daughter to the Lord and told Him I would always
continue living for Him when and if He ever decided to take any of my children home before me. I guess all we do now is lean on the Lord and move forward”. As soon as she sat down my mind was in awe of her strong, steadfast faith in the Lord. Out of all of us there she had every right to be angry and to get bitter but instead had the most incredible testimony through it all. I thought to myself that you can only have that kind of testimony when you have already built that strong foundation of “Trust and Obey” with the Lord prior to when those hard times come, to even be able to withstand such a heart-
wrenching trial. I learned so much from my aunt-in-law that day. She clearly showed that she had laid her all on the altar with the Lord, and I pray that my faith is as strong as hers. So, when those life-altering moments come into my life and my faith is being shook, I know that I will be ok because I have a strong foundation that I built with the Lord by continually Trusting and Obeying Him with EVERYTHING in my life.
My question to you is - Are you carrying burdens? Do you have worries or doubts? If so, I pray you take care of that today and give your all to the Lord and simply “Trust and Obey for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus but to Trust and Obey”.