By: David McFadden

Giving Tribute to the Great Men and Women of God

“…that like Him we may live as servants of obedience unto righteousness.” Romans 6:16

To Jesus, obedience was a life principle. Obedience with Him did not mean a single act of obedience now and then, not even a series of acts, but the spirit of His whole life. “I came, not to do My own will.” “Lo, I come, to do Thy will, O God.” He had come into the world for one  purpose. Jesus only lived to carry out God’s will. The one supreme, all-controlling power of His life was obedience. In Christ this obedience was a joy. “I delight to do Thy will, O God.” 

The link in a family is a common life shared by all and a family likeness. The bond between  Christ and us is that He and we together do the will of God. He is willing to make it so in us. This was what He promised when He said, “Whosoever shall do the will of My Father who is in  heaven, the same is My brother and sister and mother.” 

Our food is refreshment and invigoration. The healthy man eats his bread with gladness. But food is more than enjoyment — it is the one necessary of life. And so, doing the will of God was the food that Christ hungered after and without which He could not live, the one thing that  satisfied His hunger, the one thing that refreshed and strengthened Him and made Him glad. The disciples asked concerning Jesus, “Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?” And Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.”  

God did not reveal all His will to Christ at once, but day by day, according to the circumstances of the hour. In His life of obedience there was growth and progress; the most difficult lesson came the last. Each act of obedience fitted Him for the new discovery of the Father’s further command. He said, “Mine ears hast Thou opened; I delight to do Thy will, O God.” 

To Jesus, obedience was of faith — in entire dependence upon God's strength. “I can do nothing of Myself. The Father that dwelleth in Me doeth the works.” The Son’s unreserved  surrender to the Father’s will was met by the Father’s unceasing and undeserved bestowment of  His power working in Him. 

Even so it will be with us. Desiring obedience becomes the passion of our life that the ears will be opened by God’s Spirit. To know and be content with nothing less than a divine guidance  into the divine will for us. If we learn that our giving up our will to God is ever the measure of  His giving His power in us, we shall see that a surrender to full obedience is nothing but a full faith that God will work all in us.

—Andrew Murray, adapted and edited from School of Obedience

Taking God’s Word Back to Him

Heavenly Father, Your truth concerning my desire to walk in obedience is breathtaking. I so much want to identify with Jesus as a servant of obedience unto righteousness. Just as Jesus delighted in doing Your will, I, too, want to delight to do Your will. I want to be known by Jesus as His mother, sister and brother because my heart’s desire is to do Your will. Like Jesus, my food is to do Your will so that I will be satisfied, refreshed, strengthened and made glad. LORD, I ask for the desire, ability and courage to open my ears to the Holy Spirit. Help me to seek with my whole man to walk in obedience so that it becomes the passion of my life. I ask this in Jesus’ precious name. Amen.

Excerpted and adapted from David McFadden’s “Deeper Life Series”.

For more articles from this series go to: https://www.deeperlifeseries.com/devotional-archive

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