Obey God and Be Empowered or the Other Way Around

To obey God is a big deal in our Christian walk and while I have had some successes in yielding to His voice, I have to admit that at times, I still fail to obey and deliver the good works He expects me to do.

My life turned around for good when I personally encountered Jesus so I made it part of my life purpose to submit to Him.

Part of my yielding to His voice is approaching strangers I would feel the Lord told me to approach and share His love to them.

It was normal for me during the pre-pandemic but not quite usual. As a believer, I hold on to what Jesus says in the Bible that I am called to share the good news and that I am called to demonstrate His power—healing the sick, casting out demons, even raising dead to life.

And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.

—Mark 16:17-18

As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, a drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.

—Matthew 10:7-8

Now raising the dead can be such an ambitious goal, but I desire to be a doer of the word and not a hearer only so, as much as I could, and by His grace as well, I try to practice and obey these portions from the books of Mark and Matthew.

That is why I was (and is still) trying to normalize approaching strangers to share Jesus and His power.

But that is not usual for me.

You see, there are still times that I doubt, question my confidence, and simply be hesitant to obey God’s nudges.

And I don’t want to do things out of pressure or mere obligation or people’s expectations (just because I’m a believer) and be labeled as a hypocrite when they see me not do things they expect me to do.

So I’d be honest that I don’t usually do this even though it can be normal for me to do it, at times.

And honestly, I do, in a lot of times, really miss obeying God.

Oh. If heaven had a list of the things I failed to do…

But, one night, I somehow managed to obey God.

…and I want to share with you one lesson I learned from this experience—about His grace in forgiving us when we fail to obey His nudges and His enabling power to do things He desires to do through us.

The story goes this way:

I was passing over a bridge when I saw a bunch of street kids playing… And again, there was Holy Spirit telling me to share Jesus to them.

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I decided to go right for it before the spirit of sabotage interfere my divine mission (as has happened a few times before).

I was glad that they accepted my invitation to talk to them. I asked if they ever had sinned and what were those sins that they have done.

These kids were rightfully honest as they confessed their sins—stealing, dishonoring their parents, etc.

I had a refreshing time talking to them and when it was time for me to pray, they joyfully agreed as they accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

I felt happy, too.

But then, there was something I needed to deal with the Lord.

And so, in my reflection, I thought:

I confess.  It’s not always that I find myself doing this—to just randomly approach street people and share portions of Jesus’ love.

More often, I am inhibited.

Baka naman hindi makinig sakin. (What if they are not gonna listen) *Pride.

Baka ano isipin ng ibang tao.  (What will others think of me?) *Fear of men.

Baka ano gawin sa akin. (What if they’ll do something against me?) *Lack of faith.

While I know that it also takes discernment and leading of the Spirit as to whether I should obey and talk to someone or do something for Jesus—you know, only do what God tells you to do—I also confess that I still struggle with inhibitions whenever He tells me to go and share Him.

Oh, I confess, Lord. And I am always sorry.

And it doesn’t mean that if I had done the will of your heart tonight, it would be automatic for me to do this always.

I hope that it will be.

I am afraid to confess that I doubt it.

But you would tell me that I am not a robotic machine.

But oh, God! Oh, God.! Oh, God!

I confess that it’s a daily struggle for me.

To let go of the inhibitions. To not think twice. To just go for it.

I confess Lord, my heart is not (yet) as good as yours.

I confess that I have a thousand times killed the faith, when I could feel your compassion for the lost and not do anything about it.

I have been guilty of living the faith-without-works-is-dead.

Oh my Lord, do I bitterly confess!

And I also confess that I am not sure if I can make it again the next day.

To be like you and do everything you want me to do.

I love you, Jesus, but I confess that I am not yet full of your love to represent you so well.

How should I really obey You?

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And then in that moment, I heard God in my spirit saying:

I see your works.

I know what you’ve done.

But most of all, I know your heart.

I know the overflow, I see the filth, I smell the chambers that release the aroma of My love and fouls of your stinking thinking and sins.

I am faithful even when you are not.

I am delighted when you come and confess of your weaknesses.

And because you  just did it tonight, I can now fill your weaknesses with My strength, grace, and anointing.

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.

—James 1:5

You are qualified to do greater things not merely because you have done My will, but because you have come into a greater level of intimacy with Me.

It is true that your faithfulness even in littlest of things can cause you to be promoted even in My Kingdom, but service alone is not sustainable.

It is not your good works but your closeness to Me that will ultimately determine the amount of passion you will have for others.

The world measures success by the amount of past achievements.

The Kingdom measures success by the depth of your relationship with Me, because in Me you live and move and have your being.

What this means is, I am the source of everything you need, including your power to do great works for My kingdom.

Though it is also true that your food (strength) can come from doing the works of the Father (or obeying My will)—because you will be encouraged and inspired to do even more when you’ll see people get healed or accept Me in their hearts.

That is what I told in John 4:34 when I was walking on earth and telling my disciples, “My food is to do the works of the Father.

Doing the word, not merely hearing it, will indeed fan the flames of passion in your heart.

But doing the works alone is futile without My empowerment.

It is because motivation alone cannot sustain you in the long run.

Where can you find your lasting sustenance to do good works?

It is in Me.

The more that you choose to be closer to Me, the more that I will fill you with the measure of love that you will impart to the brethren and those I call to be in My Kingdom.

And this will fill your heart to be more empowered to do the works of the Father.

But be sure to release it so that you can receive more.

It is in the overflow of My love that you can have lasting spiritual stamina to obey.

So here, you can balance your intimacy with me and your obedience of my will.

The lack you see in you is not to condemn you but to allow you to surrender more of yourself to Me, and thereby go deeper in your relationship with Me.

The right response is not to anxiously do more, be more, and appear more—as if to just compensate your lags.

It doesn’t work that way in My Kingdom.

The right response is for you to be honest that you can’t do it. Because the truth is, you can’t do it on your own but by My Spirit alone.

The right response is to admit that you are empty so that I can fill you anew.

And you have responded well tonight.

Not because you have shared Me but because you have come into that confession and vulnerability.

…Not because you obeyed but because you chose to let yourself be pulled closer to My presence. 

And that, My love, is like a precious sacrifice to Me.