Partial obedience is really disobedience…


partial obedience

Genesis 12 to 15 God told Abram to leave and go to a land He would show him, and Abram obeyed.  He “went forth as the Lord had spoken to him.” [Gen 12:4] However, Abram did not leave his relatives or his father’s household as God had said to do.  How often does God say go, but we cling to what is familiar and comfortable?  That was Abram’s first test, and he failed, and that is us as well.  Next, God sent a very severe famine into the land.  Would Abram believe that if God gave him the land, He would also provide for all his needs? Instead of trusting God, Abram went down to Egypt, not to visit but to sojourn.  Then, Abram lied about Sarai because he feared for his own life; “when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me, but they will let you live.” [Gen 12:12] Truly, “the fear of people becomes a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord will be set on high.” [Prov 29:25]

Abram is a man called by God, and he obeyed only partially. Partial obedience is disobedience.  God tests us by giving us small steps of obedience to see if we will trust Him fully. However, when we fail to trust in the God of provision and protection, we are disobedient. Will we believe that “what God had promised, He [is] able also to perform.” [Rom 4:21]

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