As a child of cross-cultural kingdom workers, I have seen first-hand what it looks like to follow Jesus to the ends of the earth. In their thirties, my parents quit their jobs, gave back company cars, and moved across the state to a small shack-of-a-house on a seminary campus. The house was as dilapidated as a typical crack house and barely within the border of the campus. The story goes that when we pulled up to the house, my mom declared, “David, surely we have the wrong address. The house looks like it should be condemned!” To their dismay, they did not have the wrong address. In later years, my dad would confess that he had spent that whole first night lying awake, convinced that he had made the wrong decision.
After seminary and following God’s leading, my parents moved their three young children to, quite literally, the other side of the world. To do so, they sold everything our family owned that could not fit into five suitcases and ten footlockers. They were all in when it came to following Jesus. Their actions have proved their commitment repeatedly and consistently for as long as I can remember. Thus, being a child of these spiritual giants, I have always believed that somehow, when the time is right, something magical happens in a Christian’s heart to enable them to make giant leaps of faith, like my parents.
I don’t think that I am alone in this problematic reasoning. I have talked to many Christians, dear friends who also share this view. However, I have learned that this line of reasoning is faulty and can hinder your obedience and ultimately stunt your spiritual growth.
King David says in Psalm 144 that the LORD “trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle.” In his letter to Timothy, the Apostle Paul says, “Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” In his letter to the Corinthian church, Paul also likens the Christian life to running a race after training. Only after the training can we run with enough endurance to attain the prize in the end.
Just like the physical training that must occur for any warrior or runner to achieve their enormous goals, we must spiritually train for the giant leaps of faith awaiting us in the future. This means that the “little” decisions we make matter. The “small” obediences actually carry an eternal weight. This is difficult to understand, so let me share the story that changed my perspective.
A few years ago, I was talking to my dad about obedience and some things God had asked me to give up. They seemed trivial, but I was willing to make the easy sacrifice. My dad listened to me and responded by telling me it took him a long time to learn a similar lesson. He proceeded to tell me that soon after we moved overseas, my dad had been impressed by the Holy Spirit to give up listening to secular music. At first, he gladly did just that, but when the waves of culture shock and homesickness hit, he would return to listening to Journey, Bruce Springsteen, Kansas, and more. He then shared with me that he saw very little fruit over the fifteen years of ministry in the capital. It was a decade and a half of hard toil with few visible results. It was frustrating and discouraging.
After my brother graduated from high school, my parents moved to another province and began ministry anew. Their last two years on the field were more fruitful than the entirety of the proceeding fifteen years. However, this time, my dad had chosen to wholly obey God’s decade-old command to stop listening to secular music. He said there could be many reasons for the difference, but that on a personal level, he knew it came down to obedience in that “little” thing.
He then told me something I will never forget, “Spiritual power only comes with obedience. Total obedience. So many people never experience the power of God because they refuse to obey God in the little ways.”
It has taken years, but I think I finally understand this concept. How can a PJ jump off a plane and thrive unless he practices and trains for the day of the leap? How can I follow Jesus to the ends of the world if I can’t even give up games on my phone, or online shopping, or a show that I like, or ______ when he asks me to give it up? It’s being obedient when God asks me to obey him in these “little” ways that train me to be able to obey in bigger and bigger ways.
Do you long to be a spiritual giant? Train for the role by obeying God when he asks it of you. This means in the small and big ways. Eight years ago, I obeyed God by praying with a patient for the first time. It was scary, felt huge, and came after two years of learning obedience as a Young Life volunteer. This year, it’s more like spiritual bungee jumping. I’ve turned a ministry into a nonprofit organization, though I have no formal business training, no entrepreneurial experience, or know-how. I would have never obeyed today if I had refused to obey as a Young Life leader or a young bedside nurse.
What small thing is God asking of you? Obey, my friend. Today is the day to start training.
Written by Sara Danielle Hill
Sara is a nurse, writer and founder of Undercurrents Ministries. For more more information about Sara Hill and her writing, head over to saradaniellehill.com
