An Obedience of Faith

“Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for long ages past, but now is manifested…leading to obedience of faith.” Romans 16: 25,26

How often have you prayed the Lord’s prayer and really thought about the words that you are saying? Are you every tempted to skip over certain phrases? ‘thy will be done’….Really Lord?

What does that really look like? In reading through Romans a phrase captured my mind, ‘an obedience of faith’….“Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and discipleship to bring about the obedience of faith…” Romans 1:4b-5  Paul repeats the same phrase again at the end of the book as if to tell us…remember what this is all about?

When we seek to do God’s will or ask for His will to be done in our lives, are we willing to commit to having an obedience of faith? And what does that look like? A pastor defined it as ‘active trust and loyalty to God’. It’s not just about having an intellectual knowledge or assent to what scriptures say, but it’s active and involves a change in our behaviour and thought. 

For myself, it means that I daily choose to believe that God is still God, He hasn’t changed, He is still in control and He still asks me to be thankful and choose joy regardless of the circumstances that I find myself in or that someone near to be is facing.

How about you? What are you facing today that requires you to walk an obedience of faith?

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank you for the reminder that you require more of me than just an intellectual assent to your existence or a weekly appearance in church. Help me to listen to Your still small voice and then to walk in that obedience of faith, whatever that looks like in the situation in which I find myself. May I actively choose to trust You every day and be loyal to You regardless of the cost. Amen