Lately I’ve been learning about obedience and that led me to dig into it a little bit. I’ve been wondering how the Bible lines up with my personal experience. I’ve been learning that I don’t always need to see the reason God is calling me to do something. I don’t need to see that someone’s heart will be changed. I don’t need to see the fruit and massive growth. I don’t need to be convinced of the outcome to step into obedience.
I’ve been learning that the fruit is the obedience. Recently there have been a few things that I know God is asking me to do. Specific things that I feel convicted and convinced in my heart that God is asking me to make that move. It feels like Peter in Matthew chapter 24. If you aren’t familiar with that story, you can read it in Matthew 24:22-33. Jesus had just fed the crowd of 5,000+ and had been teaching them all day. He sent the disciples ahead of him and met up with them later that night. Jesus walked on the water out to them, and when they saw Him walking to them they thought He was a ghost. When Jesus identified himself as Jesus, Peter told Him to call him out on the water. I’ve always thought that was interesting because a ghost might call Peter out on the water too, right?
These past few months as I’ve been leaning into what God is doing and stepping out in obedience and faith, I’ve found myself responding like Peter. I’ve been praying that God would give me wisdom and guidance as I walk in faith, and when He responds I doubt. I ask God to clarify, just one more time. Like Peter, I know I’m hearing from the Lord and I ask Him, if this is from you, tell me again.
As the story continues, Peter steps out in obedience to Jesus. He gets a few steps out and then starts to sink. He takes his eyes and focus off of Jesus and sees the danger around him and doubts. Traditionally, Peter is scrutinized as doubting and therefore sinking. But I’ve started to view this story through a different lens. I’ve started to see my experience in Peter’s experience.
I can sense God asking me to step out and obey in faith. Even when I don’t see any possible fruit. Then I clarify that what I’m hearing from God is what He’s asking. I think it’s healthy to pause and pray, to not be impulsive (guilty enneagram 7!) or rush unwisely. I also think it’s healthy to trust when I’m hearing from God, and to not be surprised when I ask God for wisdom and then get wisdom. I want to be like Peter and step out in faith, even when it feels scary or lacking fruit.
I also feel encouragement from Peter’s story because the obedience is the fruit. Peter was successful and I’d say his obedience was a win. He obeyed Jesus and got out of the boat. I’ve been learning so much lately about counting obedience as fruit, as a win. Just because Peter didn’t lead a revival on the water, or because he doubted and sunk, doesn’t mean that there wasn’t fruit. It doesn’t mean that He failed.
To be clear, I’m not saying I don’t think we should look at the fruit. I’m not saying that we need to stop tracking data points or stop looking for wins. It’s not healthy or biblical to toss it all to the wind and not evaluate or adjust. Fruit is an excellent sign of what’s going on. Fruit can shed light on our motives, or the effectiveness of a program or resource. Fruit is wildly helpful and needs to be accounted for. A church we served at for a while used to say that every number represents a person and every person matters to God. God cares about numbers and data, and I believe there is a place for leaning into the numbers. But I’m learning that countable fruit isn’t the only metric of success.
I’ll give an example from a small group leader I talked with several months ago. She was evaluating the small group that she led for about 4 years prior to 2020. She was saying that sometimes she felt like the group didn’t have a lot of fruit and she wonders if she was wasting her time. We talked through the facts that there could always be fruit that we just don’t know about. A woman who was encouraged and kept being consistent with Bible study or a woman who needed to hear a hard truth and was turned away from sin. There could be lots of fruit that we won’t know about on Earth. But I also reminded her that obedience is fruit. She shared that each time there was a chance to stop, she would pray and felt like God kept asking her to say yes. I believe each time she said yes and obeyed, that was fruit. That was a win!
To close, I just want to encourage you. Walking in obedience isn’t glamorous or always fruitful in some ways. But it is always the right way to walk and it is always beneficial. I have found so much peace stepping out and obeying what I know God is asking me to do and resting in that alone. I want you to find that peace too! I’m praying that God will guide your thoughts as you process whatever situation has come to mind as you’ve read. I’d love to come alongside of you in this journey, so I’m going to offer a mini coaching call. If you’ve felt the Spirit speaking to you, but you need to talk it though, or gain some clarity let me know. Click the link below to find out more:
Abigail Denton 