Obey Immediately

Genesis 17:²³ “Abraham immediately took his son Ishmael and all of the slaves born in his household or bought with his money—every single male within his household—and circumcised the flesh of their foreskins on that very day, just as God had told him to do.” (The Voice)

Acts 10:^34-35 “…Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.” (ESV). You have to challenge the norm. Romans 12:² “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (ESV). This scripture talks about not conforming to this world but being transformed by the renewing of your mind. The transformation can only come through confrontation. So, you need to question and re-evaluate societal norms when they hinder restorative growth.

On your journey to restoration, the first lesson from Matthew 12:9-14 (please read) is Embrace Compassion. The second lesson is Challenge Norms. The third lesson is Obey Immediately. Matthew 12:¹³ “Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And the man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other.” (ESV, emphasis added). I am saying to you today, in the Name of Jesus, stretch out your hand. Everything that has withered and is without life, we command God’s life to go into it, and we command it stretched out in the Name of Jesus. The Bible says that at Jesus’ command, the man stretched out his hand. The man could have given Jesus excuses: “The Pharisees are still around, Lord; they can put us in prison.”

Think about it, God is giving you an instruction to take a step, and you are giving Him excuses. Lord, my accusers, the people who will condemn me, are still here. What will people say? How will I look? Meanwhile, God is saying, “Take the step, stretch out your hand”. Just stretch out your hand. Stretch it out in the Name of Jesus. Jesus said, “Stretch out your hand”, and the man himself stretched it out. This is so powerful. The hand didn’t have life, so it must have withered, right? So first, the man must have engaged his will; he must have decided.

In church, for example, when we say, “Clap your hands, oh ye people, and lift up your voices and shout with the voice of triumph!”, do you know not everybody obeys? There is nothing wrong with them physically, but they just choose not to do it because they are cool. Jesus said to this man, Stretch out your hand and he stretched it out. How possible is that? It is because the words that came out of the mouth of Jesus had authority. The man must have tried to stretch out his hand before but was unable to do it. But this time, the authority of Heaven backed up his action.

Prayer: Father, help me to keep my eyes fixed on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of my faith and move immediately at His Word, in the Name of Jesus. Amen!