Dr. Mike Murphy
November 17, 2024
As a little kid, I had one word I loved more than all the others. One word that found its’ way into many of my early sentences. That word? Why! I always wanted to know more. Why do I have to do that? Why do we have to go? Why do things work this way? I am all but positive if you asked my parents, they would tell you I asked “why” in my sleep!
Of all the people I asked why, I had a Sunday School teacher that knew how to answer my question best. She would always tell me, “One day you will know why.” This only lead to more questions from me. “What day?” “When will that day be?” This always led to her telling me, “When you are older, you will understand.”
Of all my “why” questions, many of them came at church. One of my biggest had to do with why we sang the same songs so often on Sunday mornings. Amazing Grace, How Great Thou Art, Blessed Assurance, Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus, and Holy, Holy, Holy, seemed to always find their way into the bulletin. And one other seemed to be there the most. Trust And Obey. If I had known what royalties meant, I would have sworn at that young age the choir director was receiving one each time the song was sang.
As I grew older, I began to understand the words of my early Sunday School teacher. I began to understand the words of each song, and to appreciate why each song was sang. I began to understand what was being said with each word, and why singing those words were more than just tradition. And as I grew a little older, I even learned how the song I heard the most came to be. I was amazed at the story behind the words to Trust and Obey.
Trust and obey, for there’s no other way,
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.
In 1887, as D. L. Moody was holding a revival in Brockton, Massachusetts, a young man stood in the audience to testify about his recent found faith. When he began to talk about his sins being forgiven by God, the young man said, “I am not quite sure,”. Then this babe in Christ went on to say, “But I am going to trust, and I am going to obey.” Even though he did not yet understand how, this young man announced to the audience that night he was trusting his salvation in God’s hands, and he would do all he could to obey the will of God.
The music that night was being lead by famous Christian music composer, Daniel Towner. The words this young man spoke stuck in his head, and he quickly found himself writing down the words. A short while later, he found himself writing to his friend, songwriter John Sammis, about the young man that night. As he told him about the young man, he included the words that the young man had spoke. Sammis soon found himself turning the words into the chorus of a hymn. A hymn that he would soon add five stanzas to, and send back to his friend Daniel Towner. A hymn that Towner would included it in a book of hymns that would become famous the world over. A hymn we sing often on Sunday mornings today.
Trust and obey. No two words should be able to better describe our faith. No two words sound sweeter when the Lord hears us sing them. No two words can bring us closer to His Word. No two words connect us closer as to why Christ placed Himself on the Cross. And no two words can fill our spirit any stronger today.
The word “trust” is an amazing and in depth word. Trust implies confidence and security, and leads us to action based on that security. Many often confuse trust and faith, and although the words are connected, they are not the same. The Bible tells us that faith is a gift God has given us(Ephesians 2:8-9). Trust is what we do because of our faith, the belief that comes from that faith. Trust is what causes us to believe and to accept each truth that God has shown us. Trust is what leads us to live by our faith, what guides us each day to make our faith an example to those around us.
With each word of God’s Word, we learn a little more about that trust, and we learn why we can place our full trust in God. How many times has someone said to you, “Trust me”? When you hear those words, you will instinctively do one of two things. You will place your trust in that person, or you will ask “why”. Each word the Lord has given us, shows us and teaches us that we do not need to ask “why”. With each word we learn that He is worthy of that trust. Each day, He proves to us that trust. And each minute, He shows us why we can only trust Him fully. Each chance we give Him, He proves to us that trust, and shows us why our choice is so obvious.
The word “obey” is another word that carries just as much meaning. Obey means to be submissive and dutiful, to comply with the one in authority. When we obey, we fulfill our obligation and duty to God, and we willfully submit to the will of God. When we are obedient, we acknowledge the authority of God, and we place the purpose of His authority above our own. But we do not just obey God out of duty, we do so out of love. We trust His love for each of us, and we serve Him so this world may see that love in us. When we obey, we prove our love for God(1 John 5:2-3), and when we obey God, we reap the blessings of that love(John 13:15-17).
No greater example of obedience can be seen than by what Christ Himself did. It was His obedience to the Father that led Christ to the Cross(Philippians 2:8). When we take up our cross today, and follow Christ, we reflect that obedience(Matthew 16:24), and we show the world a love that can only be found in that obedience. There is no greater way we can reflect Christ than to obey the will of God.
Of all the great passages we read in the Bible, there is one I find myself quoting the most. Two verses that capture the essence of our faith, and the heart of that faith. These two verses? Proverbs 3:5-6. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.” In these words, Solomon captures the perfect meaning of both trust and obedience. Our trust should be in One who is proven, not in our own finite and flawed thinking. And when we place our trust in the only One who has truly earned that trust, we will obey Him without question, knowing that He will only lead us where we need to be.
As many of you may know, I am in the final stage of cancer. Each day I can feel its’ effect, and each day I feel it taking a little more of this body. Each day, this world would have me return to the question of my youth, questioning God as to “why” I have this. Why me? Why do You not heal me? Why do You not take the burden of this disease away from me? But as the world brings these questions into my mind, the words of Solomon speak to me louder. They show me that “why” is not the right question. They teach me that the only question that matters is “how”. “How can You use me?”, is the only question I now wish to ask. Despite the limitation this disease has now placed on me, how can the Lord still use me today?
I do not know of a single person who goes into ministry that does not pray the Lord will use them to move mountains. But the Lord has used the cancer to show me, He does not need me to move mountains, He can do amazing things with my life if I am just willing to move hills. The cancer may not allow me to now do the things for Him that I so desire to do, but not one day has He let it prohibit me from doing everything He needs me to do. Each day He shows me that the cancer does not control me, He does. Cancer does not silence His call to me, and provides me with no excuse to still answer that call each day. The call may not come to speak to thousands, it may be to only speak to one. But He has shown me the power that comes in trusting and obeying that call. The one I obediently speak to about Him today, may be the very one He will entrust to speak to thousands tomorrow. He shows me each day that His will does not come in size and measure, but in trust and obedience. And if I faithfully follow that trust and obedience, He can still use my life in the most incredible of ways.
Each time I now hear the song Trust and Obey, I think about the young man at the revival that night, and a smile comes to my face. History may not record his name, but God has recorded his deed. With a few words that night, this young man moved a hill for the Lord. And through his faithfulness that night, God spoke to others to put his words to song. A song that would be heard the world over. A song that would lead men and women to move mountains! This young man reminds me of what the Lord can do with every faithful word we speak, with every simple act of trust and obedience we show those around us.
As my days become fewer, I can all but hear this young man’s voice. And each time I hear it, my “whys’ become fewer, my trust becomes stronger, and my obedience becomes one of joy. Each day, I can feel the Lord’s arms around me, holding me up, giving me a little added strength, so I can take another step down the path that Solomon talked about. Each step of that path, He talks to me, and He explains to me how each of my “whys’ are not really questions. He reminds me that He has already healed me, that cancer has no hold over me, and He has offered me an eternity to prove His words to me. With each step He shows me the love He has for me, a love so deep it still finds purpose in me. A love that each day still gives me the strength to hold a shovel, and blesses me to still be able each day to move a few more hills.
With each of my prayers, I pray you move a hill today.
