ON THE VANGUARD

MAKE A MOVE
“Then [Jesus] said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other.”
Matthew 12:13

Yesterday we looked at obedience, and how the lack of it could be keeping us from receiving the blessing that God wants to give us. Thinking again on King Saul, there is no telling just how much longer this man would have served as king if he had done what God commanded. I cannot help but find myself asking once more how many more blessings I would find in my life if I would obey the words of God. I can simply look at my physical situation, however, to see the parallel of this fact. In August 2000 I was fired from my job at the bank. In the Code of Conduct that I signed when I was hired it gave specifics concerning what I was and was not allowed to do on company time. Viewing pornography on the company computer was not one of the allowed. Had I obeyed, I maybe still would be working there. However, my disobedience of the rules became my demise.
That said I want to give you some hope. Not everyone in the Bible disobeyed. In fact, I can think off-hand of three specific people who obeyed God and saw the benefit of their obedience. The first one I want to point out to you is the man with the shriveled hand in Matthew 12:13. The account reads that it was on the Sabbath and Jesus went into a Pharisee synagogue. Perhaps it was all a set up, but the Pharisees just so happened to ask Jesus if it was lawful to heal on the Sabbath, as a man with a shriveled hand was standing around. Jesus answered the religious bunch, but then He spoke to the man to stretch out his hand for his healing. The man did, and suddenly the deformed hand was restored to complete wholeness. I cannot help but wonder if a healing would have come if the man had not obeyed Jesus’ words, refusing to stretch it out. In this case, I am certain he would have missed his blessing.
Move forward with me to John 9:1-7, where we read about an old blind man. After Jesus explained to His disciples that this man was not paying for the sins of his family, nor of himself, but rather for the reason of a blessing, Jesus spit on the ground and made mud. Jesus placed the mud in the man’s eyes and commanded him to go to the Pool of Siloam to wash. There was the command, to go and wash. The man could refuse and stay blind, or obey and see what would happen next. He obeyed, went to the Pool, and received the blessing of sight. Again we see (pun intended) the benefit of obeying God.
Lastly I want us to look at the details concerning Naaman, in II Kings 5. Battling with leprosy, the man was told by the prophet Elisha to wash himself in the Jordan seven times. Naaman almost missed out on his blessing. The Jordan was not the cleanest of places, and this commander of the army was well aware of this fact. He left the prophet’s home angry about the instruction to wash, but urged on by his servant, agreed. He hesitantly obeyed. This may qualify as the way we obey most times. Nonetheless, when he washed the seventh time he was made whole, with no trace of leprosy remaining on his body.
Obedience is not always easy, and not always convenient, but it always has a reward in the end when done. For these men, obedience brought them a fully working hand, sight, and the blessing of health. What will obedience bring us? I am not sure I can fully answer, but I do know that it is so much better than what disobedience will bring. So how about it? How about we make a move to obey as God leads? I am sure it will be worth it in the end.