Obedience

At various times, my husband was asked the question, If there is one message you could preach, what would it be? He would always answer with the same single word, Obedience. He always said that if we would just obey God, we would be one hundred percent in tune with His will.  If we would obey God, we would read our Bibles, we would pray, we would love our enemies let alone one another, we would forgive as we have been forgiven, we would be a light and witness to others for Jesus Christ, if we obeyed God we would live for God.  I often heard my husband singing the hymn, Trust and Obey.  He wasn’t perfect, as no one is, except Jesus Christ, but it was his constant aim—to obey God.  He shared with me that in the days when he flew by himself, it often was the hardest thing for him to get on another plane after he had just landed and wasn’t going to get to go home yet, because he knew that God was asking him to go once again and preach the Gospel. On many occasions, he drove hours out of his way to anoint and pray for someone, responding both to the request of that person’s loved one and the leading of the Lord.  I remember a time when we drove several hours out of our way to a home in Missouri, where a woman suffered from such severe fibromyalgia that even the touch of her children—giving or receiving a hug—brought excruciating pain, all because her brother had asked Dr. Williams if he would come to anoint her with oil and pray for her healing. We literally had time to stop, go in, he anointed her with the oil, prayed for her, and then we left so that we could  make it to the church on time where he was going to be preaching.  The next night that same lady and her husband came to the meeting.  She was completely healed!  When we saw her in her home, she shuffled slowly as she walked; however, at the meeting she bounded down the aisle and jumped up and down, beaming ear to ear with a grateful smile.  Her doctor had told her if she was healed, she would be able to jump and run, which she gladly demonstrated.  She was God’s glorious result of Dr. Williams’ obedience.  

Here's a segment of one of Dr. Williams' messages.

Many couples came asking for counsel from my husband as to whether they really should go to the mission field or not.  He always asked them, Has the Lord told you to go? He always said the only reason you go anywhere for the Lord is simply because He told you to go. If there was even the slightest hesitation, he would counsel them to pray and to go only in obedience to God’s clear leading.  He often made the comment that many missionaries come off the field, because they went to the field out of some emotion.  When God calls us to go, then we have an anchor that is able to keep us where He has called us.  I have experienced that first hand in my own life.  I went through College and Graduate school to become a Speech Pathologist, and the Lord moved me from California to Connecticut where I worked my first and last job in a hospital there for three years.  In 1993 the Lord asked me to quit my job and go into full time Christian work.  I didn’t know what that Christian work would be, but initially I thought I would teach in the Christian school at my church there in Connecticut; however, Almighty God had completely different plans. On a Mother’s Day weekend when Dr. Williams, his wife Pam, and the lady caring for her visited my church, the Lord spoke with exceptional clarity: “You will be their next nurse.” He said this as I read Dr. Williams’ book You Can Make It that Sunday afternoon while sitting in my backyard.  I’m ashamed to say, but my response to the Lord was, No way!  Having moved to the east coast from California—where I was born and raised was quite the culture shock, believe it or not, and I thought I just couldn’t do that again, and move in with complete strangers!  That Sunday evening, Dr. Williams asked me if I would come and take care of his wife. I told him I would pray about it and agreed to having him call me in a couple of weeks.  I truly thought I would never hear from him again, but a couple of weeks later, he called.  I had to be honest with him and tell him I hadn’t prayed one day about it, but if he gave me two more days I would earnestly pray.  As I prayed, hoping the Lord couldn’t seriously be wanting me to do this, He directed me to read in Acts chapter 8.  As I read verses 26 and 27, it was as if the Lord said to me, Will you obey me and go? I agreed to obey and go.  That first year taking care of Pam was very difficult.  I was living with people I didn’t really know, I was in another new region of the country—the south, I was never home long enough to make friends and never in any one church long enough to make any friends, my family was going through a horrible time and I wasn’t there, thus several times that year I came close to leaving; however, I knew that if I left I would be disobeying the Lord. The Lord graciously threw me a life-line almost one year to the day that I had come.  We were in Michigan at an old fashioned tent revival meeting.  Dr. Williams asked me to stay at the hotel that morning with Pam. That morning I was at my breaking point it seemed.  I watched Dr. Williams, through my hotel window, get into the car, drive away, and when I couldn’t see the car anymore, I broke down weeping and crying out loud to God in prayer.  During it all, I asked the Lord if He really loved me? It was then that I heard Pam from the other room—I had unlocked the adjoining doors and propped them open in case she needed anything I would hear her call out—she said, I love you, Jeannine!  I walked to the doorway, and asked, What did you say? She repeated, I love you, Jeannine.  I walked over to where she was sitting, knelt down, and asked her if she would give me a hug.  The unique thing was that she could hug, but it was generally stiff and very brief; however, that day, she hugged me, patted my back and held me for nearly 10 minutes!  The Lord spoke to my heart in that moment, I do love you, and I know right where you are, and you are where I want you to be.  Obedience is the very best thing.

Listen to the full message here:

Reflections:

• Write it down: Take a few minutes to write down one specific area where you know God is calling you to obey—and what your next step should be.

• Pray intentionally: Ask God to give you both clarity and courage to obey, even when it’s uncomfortable or inconvenient.

• Leave a heart if you were encouraged or challenged by this blog post♥️