Greetings,
It is the middle of winter here in South Africa, and it is a great time. Family, I just want to talk about a thing here that I believe is of great importance. One thing I noticed with what God has instructed us is that we struggle with what God has told us to do because we are not willing to do what God says.
Isaiah 1:19 God said to us:
“If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good of the land.”
One thing that makes everything difficult in Christianity is the lack of willingness to do what God says. Most of the time, when we read the Word of God, we find out what God says and what God expects us to do. But then the difficulty comes when we cannot make the decision to do what God said. Why are we not making the decision to do what God said? It is because we are not willing to do so.
Recently, I have been praying about marriage, and I came to this conclusion. I realized that most people do not know what they should do to make their marriages work well. I also realized that if two born-again individuals are willing to do what God says, then their marriage will work well.
Remember, God has given us His Word as the solution to every problem. To solve the problem of a broken system, we must turn to His Word.
“His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness.”
2 Peter 1:3
But let me say this: many of us are not willing to do what God says. For example, God has commanded wives to submit to their husbands—not because husbands are better than women, but simply for the purpose of God's divine order. However, women often ask questions such as:
- Why should I submit to my husband?
- When should I submit to my husband?
- To what extent should I submit?
- What if my husband does not have the qualities I expected?
In the same way, husbands ask similar questions:
- When should I love my wife?
- Why should I love my wife?
These questions arise because we are not always willing to do what God says.
All these questions arise from the fact that people are not willing to do what God says. Doing what God says was never meant to be by compulsion. Submission is a voluntary exercise. It works well when it is done willingly, and loving your wife works well when it is done voluntarily, not under compulsion.
When people are willing to do what God has already told them to do, nothing is left for them to solve on their own because God has already provided the solution in His Word. When Paul was talking about preaching the gospel, he said that if he does it willingly, he will receive his reward (1 Corinthians 9:17). Again, when talking about giving, Paul says that giving should come from a willing heart, not under compulsion (2 Corinthians 9:7).
Let me say something here. The reason most of us are not doing what God said in His Word is because there is no willingness in our hearts to do so. Let me say it this way: nothing will ever work in our lives until we realize that we must be willing to do all that God has said.
The children of Israel failed in the wilderness because they were not willing to do what God said. It was not because they did not know what God had said. Even after Moses pronounced the Word of the Lord to them, they were still not willing to obey. Israel was never destined to fail, but they failed by choosing not to do what God said.
So, for me, I believe that for us to see God moving in our lives, the first thing we need is to be willing to do what He says. One preacher once shared this illustration: A child was told by her teacher to stand up in class as a form of discipline for being naughty. The child stood up and said to the teacher, “Yes, I am standing on the outside, but on the inside I am still sitting down.” The child was saying, “Although I am standing physically, my will on the inside is not standing with me.”
Most of us are like that. We may appear to be standing on the outside, but on the inside we are still sitting down because there is no willingness in our hearts. Family, we have to be willing to do what God says. Otherwise, the Bible will become just another story that never produces fruit in our lives.
“Faith without works is dead.”
James 2:17, 26
If we are not willing to do what God says, our faith becomes like dead wood. Let me encourage you with this: if you are willing to do something in life, do not wait for the perfect moment. Simply step out in faith and do it. There will never be a perfect moment to do what God has called you to do. Until we are willing to step out in faith, our faith will never work in our lives. Family, I want to encourage us all: faith works when we are willing to do what God says. Faith works effectively when it flows from a willing heart.
Let us look again at Isaiah 1:19–20:
“If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
One thing we need to understand is that a willing heart is an obedient heart, while an unwilling heart is a rebellious heart. In other words, if you are unwilling to do what God says, you become rebellious. When we are rebellious, we cannot benefit from the Word of God.
To rebel is to refuse to follow an instruction. Let me use marriage as an example. If women refuse to submit to their husbands as God has instructed, they are refusing God's instruction. Likewise, if men refuse to love their wives as Christ commanded, they are also refusing God's instruction. That means marriage becomes difficult because we have chosen not to follow the Lord's way.
I want to emphasize something here: a rebellious heart is a hardened heart. The more we refuse to do what God says, the more our hearts become hardened. Just imagine yourself with a hard heart. You will find yourself living in disobedience and becoming increasingly insensitive to the voice of God.
A hard heart always wants to fight against the truth. It never receives the truth. That is where strife, arguments, and conflicts are born. We cannot know true peace if our hearts are hardened toward the Word of God. A hard heart is stubborn and always stands against the truth. Family, let us be willing to do what God says, no matter how foolish it may seem.
I am reminded of one word in the Bible—that the Word of God is easy to entreat. I believe that if we are willing to do what God says, we too will become easy to entreat, just like the Word of God. Let us not be stubborn or hard-hearted. Let us not be rebellious. Instead, let us cultivate softness in our hearts.
When God speaks, let us respond immediately. When the truth is revealed to us, let us receive it with joy rather than looking at it with suspicion or contempt. Let us not question why we should obey the truth, but rather choose to act upon it.
Family, I want to encourage you to do the things of God with a willing heart so that you can enjoy your walk with God.
Until next time, remember that Jabu and I love you very much, and we pray for you every day.
Phatudi Molapo
Jesus is Lord.