Strength Through Obedience

“So Jotham became mighty, because he prepared his ways before the LORD his God.” (2Ch 27:6 AV)

There is a direct correlation between obedience and strength.  There is a direct relationship between faith and strength.  Perhaps not physical, but there is strength.  Jotham, king of Judah, was not perfect.  He did the right thing, but not with a right heart.  He prepared his ways before the LORD but never prepared his heart to seek the LORD.  He knew his Bible and followed it to the letter.  Yet, Jotham never had a vibrant relationship with the LORD.  This is important to understand.  We must see the relationship of obedience and faith to strength.  Not that we can be as strong as we need to be if we obey and trust the LORD.  One can only imagine if Jotham added to his character the desire to walk with God in intimacy and with a humble heart.  Regardless, what we do see is that strength comes by obedience and faith.  Partially, yes.  It can be suggested that without faith and obedience, the saint is not mighty.  He is weak.  He lives in fear and in the consequences of disobedience.

Disobedience and fear take a great toll.  We can all testify to the truth of that statement.  There are things in our past that still come back to bite us now and again.  There are fears of consequences yet to mature.  They probably never will.  But the fear is still there.  There are consequences for choices made in the past that still cost today.  Some excess baggage we carry with us.  Others are more durable in nature.  Perhaps a financial impact still haunts us.  Or maybe we have physical scars from poor choices in the past.  Whatever the consequences are, we deal with them for the rest of our lives.  There is the fear of the unknown.  We are not afraid of eternity.  We know all pain will cease there.  It is the journey along the way that concerns us.  We live in an uncertain world.  At any moment, the bottom could drop out.  Survival becomes the only motive each day.  We live in fear, anxiety, regret, etc. because we did not prepare ourselves to follow the LORD.  We are weak because the LORD is not our Rock.  We are frail because God is not our strength.  This is our human experience.

The only way to regain strength is to recommit to obedience and trust.  In these two comes the might of the LORD!  Jotham was mighty because he decided the law of God was worthy to be followed and the call of God on him and Judah was worthy to be pursued.  He may not have been intimately involved with the person of God, but the ways of God got him through much.  Again, this is not to give a shortcut to the might of God.  Being intimate with God can only increase the might one can have through obedience and faith.  But we have to start somewhere.  Obedience and intimacy are to be pursued equally.  We cannot have one without the other.  Our modern idea of worship is intimacy without obedience.  Legalism is the opposite.  Obedience without intimacy.  This is why our churches are not effective.  There must be both.  The same is true with the individual.  We will face troubles and trials too hard for any human to endure.  Just like it would have been foolish for Jotham to wage war against the Ammonites while living in disobedience with the LORD, it is equally foolish for us to do the same.  Do we want strength and might to face our troubles?  Then it starts with obedience and faith.