Command 44 : Keep My Commandments | Day 305

Trust and Obey Christ!

It seemed like a strange instruction. Make ditches in the dry desert valley so that water could fill them. The three kings and their armies who received this instruction most likely wondered where water would come from in a hot and dry desert. Nevertheless, they obeyed the word of the Lord that the prophet Elisha gave them, and by the next morning God had filled the ditches with water. This refreshed the thirsty armies and also caused the enemy to make a false assumption and consequently be defeated. (See II Kings 3.)

God's commands do not always "make sense" to us, because His thoughts and ways are far above our thoughts and ways. (See Isaiah 55:9.)

If we wait until we understand all of the reasons for Christ's commands to obey them, we will miss out on the rewards that God wants to give us for faith and obedience. However, those who choose to obey Christ's commands even when they do not fully understand His reasons will soon discover the great wisdom and rewards that come from them.

Naaman was a skilled army general who was trained to think logically before taking any action. This analytical approach caused a head-on collision with the instructions of Elisha, who gave him what seemed to be a ridiculous command. Naaman was quick to react and offered reasons why he would not follow such a silly instruction. Had it not been for his servants who reasoned with him, he would have returned home with his leprosy.

We can speculate about when Naaman was actually healed of his leprosy. Did it improve gradually with each dip in the Jordan River, or did it happen only after he had completed the seventh and final dip? It would seem consistent with the nature of God that Naaman was not healed at all until he had completely obeyed Elisha's instruction. (See II Kings 5:1-14.)

One command that opposes our natural inclinations and is often difficult to obey is asking forgiveness for a small offense from those who have hurt us in much greater ways. A son who was deeply hurt by his father obeyed this command and asked his father to forgive him for not having a loving attitude toward him. To his surprise his father began to weep and asked his son to forgive him for all the ways he had offended him over the years. Not long after, the father became a Christian.

The son later understood the principle that reconciliation begins with the one who is more spiritual. That is the example that Christ gave to us when He took the initiative to reconcile us to the Father when we were without desire or ability to do so.

God will reward us when He sees in us pure hearts that seek to fully obey Him.

As followers of Christ, it is not our place to pick and choose which of His commands we will obey; rather, we are to obey them all. Let's demonstrate our trust in the Lord by obeying all of His commands even if we do not fully understand His reasons for them.