Road to Obedience

Let’s look at two encounters which people had with Jesus. There were ten lepers who met with Him on the way to Jerusalem. They stood at a distance and shouted for Jesus to have mercy on them. ‘He looked at them and said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy’ (Luke 17:14).

Then, when Jesus and His disciples came across a man who had been born blind, and the disciples asked Him whether the blindness was caused by sin, Jesus anointed the man’s eyes with mud. ‘Then he spat on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and spread the mud over the blind man’s eyes. He told him, “Go wash yourself in the pool of Siloam” (Siloam means ‘sent’). So, the man went and washed and came back seeing’ (John 9:6–7).

Both these times we can see that the healing didn’t happen immediately, during the encounter with Jesus. The transformation came as they obeyed what He told them to do.

The lepers were healed as they went. The blind man saw after he washed. They were on the road, still in the same physical condition, even after meeting Jesus. But on the road, as they followed Jesus’ instructions, something happened. They were physically healed.

That’s the challenge for us too; walking in obedience before we see the outcome. Sometimes, we want instant results after encountering Jesus. But faith often means obeying Him even though nothing seems to have changed as yet. It’s trusting Him enough to act on His word, even while our situation still looks the same.

Are we willing to obey, even when we haven’t yet seen the breakthrough? Are we willing to show our love for Him through our obedience, not just our expectations? An encounter with Jesus doesn’t always bring immediate answers or instant change. Sometimes, the results come as we keep walking in obedience, without evidence, without visible results, just trusting.

Even the disciples, who walked with Jesus for three years, had their struggles. Not all their problems vanished in His presence. The most important thing is that they walked with Him.

Your problems may not disappear overnight after an encounter with Jesus. But the question is, will you still walk with Him? Will you still obey Him, even when the results aren’t instant?

Let Jesus be your anchor. Your foundation. Obedience may not always feel rewarding at the time, but it leads to the life He has called you to live.

Simon Peter didn’t wait until seeing the tell-tale sign of bubbles rising from fish in the sea before he cast his net. That eventually led to him becoming a fisher of men.

Abraham didn’t wait until the Lord showed him the place he was to go to before he set out and left his country. That led to him becoming a father of many nations.

An encounter with Jesus, is not about what He can do for us, but how much we are willing to obey His word afterwards. So, what’s the last thing He asked of you?