“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” James 1:22

“Hearing God in the secret place is one of the greatest keys to the overcoming Christian life. However, it must be linked with its corollary: radical obedience. We hear, and then we do.

“By ‘radical obedience,’ I mean immediate obedience that fulfills the commandment to its fullest measure. Radical obedience does not seek to comply to the minimal standards but pursues extravagant, lavish fulfillment. If Jesus says, ‘Sell all,’ then we sell all! Immediately.

“Implicit obedience starts, for every one of us, not in doing good works but in sitting at His feet and hearing His word. Devotion to the secret place is the saint’s first great act of obedience…Until you attend to this responsibility first, you will be constantly frustrated in your inability to uncover the joys of radical obedience. Works of service gain their spiritual energy from the furnace of a fiery love relationship at Jesus’ feet. The true fulfillment of serving Jesus is discovered when we get first things first: First we sit and listen, and then we go and do.

“Some people put their best energies into creative thinking…Instead of focusing on being creative, focus on being obedient. Give your best energies to waiting on God in His presence, listening for His voice, and then moving out in action only when He has spoken. There’s no sense in coming up with your own ideas when it’s only God’s counsel that will stand! I’m saying it several different ways: The key is in hearing and obeying…The life that resides in Him flows into you when you obey.

“Storms are most certainly headed your way. The only question is, will you survive? Will your foundations be strong enough to sustain the winds and floods? Those who walk in radical obedience have made themselves ready for the storm, and they will overcome. ‘Oh, that you had heeded My commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea’ (Isaiah 48:18).

“True servants are found sitting at Jesus’ feet (‘Where I am, there My servant will be also,’ John 12:26). Then, when He speaks, they just do it. Servants don’t try to give the Master a better idea; servants don’t complain that they think the task is stupid; servants don’t try to decide if they’re in the mood to do it right now; servants don’t decide if the task is within their dignity to perform it. They just do it.

“The closer you get to God, the more obedient you must be.”—Bob Sorge

My Prayer

“Lord, all my knowledge and all my secret place experience is vanity and emptiness if I don’t obey You. I am Your servant, and all I want to do is to please You. Everything else is secondary. If sitting at Your feet is what You want, I will do it. Whenever You expect me to act, I will act—by Your grace. Whatever it will cost, help me Lord to do. Enough of talking spirituality that does not translate into actual action. May my spirituality be known in the ways I unashamedly and unquestioningly obey You—even when I don’t understand why You ask me to do what I must do. All of my life belongs to You, Lord. May I practically and daily release everything to You—in every way. In Your name I pray. Amen.”

The Challenge

1. Are there specific ways you disobeyed God recently? If yes, can you list them out and repent over them? In penitent prayer, can you commit not to disobey God in those specific things again?
2. Are there ways you disobeyed God in the past, but you can now redress and redeem the situation? We know that restitution may not be practically possible in all situations, but if there is a way you can still obey God in the thing you had disobeyed Him, then do so.
3. Make a prayer of fresh commitment to the Lord today: a commitment to always obey Him—totally and immediately—irrespective of discomfort or personal sacrifice.