Upward Falling
On Hillsong UNITED’S Empires album, there is a song—“Touch the Sky”—that is a favorite of mine and is an anthem that has come to mean a lot to our church. Its lyrics admonish us that life with Christ is often found in a posture of surrender and that obedience to His call leads to abundance for us.
My heart beating, my soul breathing
I found my life when I laid it down
Upward falling, spirit soaring
I touch the sky when my knees hit the ground.2
As I sing these words, I am reminded again of the God dream that Abraham was given about the innumerable stars in the sky. This dream of the stars was carved out in Abraham’s obedience, walked out in the dust of the desert sands.
The apostle John wrote, “Anyone who claims to be intimate with God ought to live the same kind of life Jesus lived” (1 John 2:6, MSG). What a challenge! If the life we want is a full one—filled to overflowing with exceeded dreams and fulfilled promises—we must find ourselves before the King, surrendered and obedient. We must be willing to hit the ground before we touch the sky.
Costly Compromise
Just as the mystery of more has everything to do with knowing Jesus, so the journey of more must ultimately be about obeying Him. But our obedience must not fall victim to pragmatism or convenience and must never be in disagreement with the conviction of the Holy Spirit.
King Saul’s whole reign was brought to an end because although he sacrificed the burnt offerings as a ritual, he did it in an environment of excuses, interpretation, and ultimately disobedience (see 1 Samuel 13:1–14).
Saul was in the eye of the storm in Gilgal. Samuel the prophet had departed after telling Saul he would return in a week and leaving the king with explicit instructions that no sacrifice be made until he—Samuel, acting as God’s mouthpiece—returned. But the tense environment meant that pressure was mounting on Saul. Thousands of Philistine men, horses, and chariots were surging toward them. The Israelites were completely outnumbered and trembling with fear. The Bible narrative paints a picture of Saul’s men in jeopardy and with distress levels at an all-time high as they ran for the hills in the most literal sense. We are told that many hid in caves, thickets, rocks, holes, and pits, while others escaped altogether, crossing the Jordan in their panicked efforts to get away.
Saul could see that his men were quickly descending into a rabble, and after waiting for Samuel for seven days, he took matters into his own hands. He made the sacrifices and burnt offerings he was so clearly told not to make until the priest returned.
When Samuel returned, Saul offered every conceivable excuse he could muster, but Samuel had only bad news for the king. It wasn’t God’s plan for Saul to interpret the Word of the Lord, adjusting commandments to fit the circumstances. It was clear to everyone that Saul was a leader with more faith in his own judgment than in God, who had anointed him Israel’s first king. His disobedience cost him his kingdom.
How often in our journey through life do our pressing circumstances seem to give us every logical reason to translate, decipher, and interpret the Word of God in a manner that suits us rather than to simply trust and obey? No matter how compelling the inner voice of pragmatism sounds, when God’s Word says, “Let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’ and your ‘No’ be ‘No’” (Matthew 5:37, WEB), it doesn’t mean that we can simply understand it as yes until it doesn’t suit us and then interpret things as no until it’s inconvenient. Compromising on our beliefs or misinterpreting the truth of God’s Word will never attract abundance and blessing.
As a pastor of a church, I am regularly asked by the media about my thoughts on current affairs and prominent social issues. I constantly feel as if the premise behind the questions is flawed. I don’t believe that “What do you think?” is the right question to ask, as what I think can so quickly descend into pragmatism, clichés, and compromise. I could so easily respond by saying such things as “Everyone deserves to be happy” and “It’s not my job to judge others” or even “Live and let live.” And that might be what I think. But is that what really matters?
Obedience to God and His Word is the only right way for me to responsibly shepherd His people. And it’s ultimately my commitment to obey God that will keep His abundance and blessing flowing in my life and ministry and in the church that I’ve been honored to pastor all these years. Sometimes that means taking the hard road when it’s the right road to take.
I have little regard for the harsh spirit behind those who sit on the sidelines, spitting vehement judgment and self-righteous vitriol at people who may be on the other side of the fence from where they sit. To me, it is an agonizing choice to commit to obedience to God and His Word if I feel it may hurt someone’s feelings or paint me in a negative light, but I have seen the fallout that accompanies compromise. I have looked on as any trace of abundance has dried up for people who have allowed obedience to Christ and His Word to be eroded by convenient interpretation rather than faithful obedience.
The life of grace we are called to is fueled by our love of the Savior. As we turn our eyes on Jesus, study His Word, and trust in His promises, it will become easier to live in obedience, discard convenience, and simply obey rather than interpret.
Go a Little Deeper
I’ll leave you with one of my favorite Bible stories. It’s in Luke 5, when Jesus gives His disciples a lesson in exactly this way of thinking. Simon Peter and the others had recently hauled in their fishing gear after a disappointing night. Likely, they had just cleaned their nets—no small task—and reordered their boat, hoping that tomorrow their luck would change, when Jesus spoke to them. He said, “Put out into the deep [water], and lower your nets for a haul” (verse 4, AMPC). Who doesn’t like a haul?
But Peter’s response to Jesus is exactly what so many of us would say, and it’s shrouded with doubts and excuses: “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything” (verse 5, NIV11). What he was really saying was “But Jesus, I don’t feel like doing it. I really don’t want to do it.” Despite Peter’s human response, he shows his love and devotion to Christ by saying, “But because you say so, I will let down the nets” (verse 5, NIV11).
The Bible goes on to tell us, “When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink” (verses 6–7, NIV11).
Relax—their boat didn’t sink! It was simply weighed down by blessings. Their portion was the abundant, overflowing, more-than-enough blessings that only God Himself could bring.
Even in deep waters your obedience matters. Actually, especially in deep waters your obedience matters. It’s in these moments, when we’re fragile and in danger of making poor choices, that we are most susceptible to the Enemy. Even when you don’t feel like it, when it doesn’t make sense, when it’s inconvenient and frustrating listening to Jesus, trusting His voice and obeying His commands will always exceed your expectations.
