Courageous FaithНамуна

Day 5: The Tragedy of Partial Obedience

On Day 5 of the Courageous Faith YouVersion, we’re talking about a tragic reality that millions of Christians succumb to––partial obedience.

When the Lord asks something of us, He expects us to fulfill it––and to fulfill it fully. Partially obeying the Lord’s commands is just as bad as denying Him altogether. We have to make a choice: will we serve the Lord of the Universe with our full body, mind, and soul, or will we half-heartedly follow Him and instead pursue our own, selfish desires?

Joshua 11 talks both about the Israelites’ victory over the coalition of kings in the land of Canaan as well as the dangers of partial obedience.

God commanded Israel to completely wipe out the inhabitants of certain cities they had conquered. While they only somewhat followed orders, they also spared many and made slaves out of others. This is not at all what God had commanded of them!

But this story doesn’t stop in Joshua. These individuals the Israelites failed to take care of actually come back to cause more problems for Israel in Judges 1:21-35. God, of course, knew this would happen, and this could be a big reason why He commanded Israel the way He did. But, since Israel was not fully obedient to the Lord’s command, they suffered long-term.

In what area of your life are you only partially obeying the Lord? Stop putting half-effort in your obedience to the Lord. Go all in with your heart, mind, and soul. He wants to bless us, but we must obey Him!