Lessons from the Fallow Season: The Key

Wet snowflakes splatted against my hood as I fumbled with my house key. I longed for nothing more than the warm kitchen just beyond the locked door. I wriggled the key into the slot, turning it and the doorknob. The door swung open into the dry warmth I craved.

As Christians, we all desire intimacy with God. We hear seasoned believers speak of their prayer times as quiet, ongoing talks with a trusted Friend. We hear them speak of their walk with God in terms of intimate friendship with the same God Who thundered from Sinai. We may wonder if that sort of intimacy is even possible nowadays. Is it even true? Is it all a bunch of hype?

I am here to say, it is possible. It is not hype. Intimate friendship with God is possible, and our faithful obedience is the key that unlocks that door. Faithful obedience unlocks the door to more of Him. 

Just as intimate friendship with another person rarely happens by accident, the same applies in our relationship with God. Intimate friendship arises from deep trust, and both follow upon the heels of faithful obedience.

We all know obedience is important, and are familiar with the prophet Samuel’s admonition to King Saul:

“. . . Behold, to obey is better than the sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.” 1 Samuel 15:22

 We know faithful obedience is important, but we also wonder if it’s truly that big of a deal. After all, God is full of grace, right?

Many of us are willing to do whatever He asks. If we were sure of what He’s asking, we would gladly comply. While we aren’t expecting God to audibly reveal His personal mandate and life plan for us in a thundering voice, in many ways it seems simpler if He would.

He speaks to us from His word, the Bible. We respond to Him in prayer. In His word, He relays basic disciplines that every Christian can and should continually practice and build upon. He calls us to be a people marked by prayer and by love of His word. This provides an excellent starting point for us.

How much prayer? How much Scripture? That all depends on how closely one desires to walk with Him. More Scripture equals more of Him. More prayer equals more conversation with Him. He has already made clear that the duty of every believer is to pray, read His word, and spread the gospel using the natural talents and spiritual gifts He’s bestowed. Faithful obedience begins with those basics.

How can a simple thing like faithful obedience be the key to more intimacy with God? That may sound too simplistic, or even too rigid. It does so for the following reasons. It demonstrates that we give His word enough credence to give more than mere intellectual assent. It shows that we believe Him and what He says to the point that we are willing to follow it with action. It shows that we are willing to do so as a way of life, not only once or twice if it works out well for us. It demonstrates that we are willing to follow His teachings to the point that our lives here on earth are shaped by them, and that our eternal destiny hangs upon them.

Jesus Himself highlighted faithful obedience as a crucial way to demonstrate our love and devotion to Him. In His final teachings with His disciples before going to the cross, He said.  “If you love me, keep my commandments.” John 14:15

Faithful obedience says, I will do what You ask of me, no matter what it costs, because Your powerful presence in my life is so important that I will do nothing to impede its flow.

Faithful obedience doesn’t wait for a task large enough to matter, for it knows that small things done for an audience of One are large, and You take notice of all things done in Your name, large and small.

After all, massive endeavors like Noah building the ark began with the simple act of obedience--as simple as writing down the God-given plans, gathering the supplies, and sawing the first timbers. 

Our trust and devotion to God fuel our faithful obedience. The more we soak our souls in the living-giving words of truth, the deeper our knowledge of Him grows. The more deeply we know  Him, the more willing we become to entrust Him with our souls and our very lives.

The more we trust Him, the more we allow Him to chart our course on this good path. The difficulty or ease of the journey matters less and less because, along the way, we find that we are walking in intimate friendship with the Lord of All Creation.

The warmth and blessing of intimate friendship with God that we sought becomes our joy and delight, and we marvel in His presence that it was simply faithful obedience that unlocked the door.