Unexpected Consequences for Following

 This blog will not relate to everyone. It is intended for a very specific group. Those who heard God clearly call them to do something. Those who summoned the courage and stepped out in faith to obey God. They expected a certain outcome. What they got for their obedience was not what they had in mind. 

We naturally think that steps of faith will be rewarded with success. That is not always the case. I think of missionaries William Carey and Hudson Taylor who both followed God's call to minister overseas. Both suffered watching their wives die on the mission field. That was an unexpected consequence of their obedience. Taylor also buried two children on the mission field. Not what he had in mind when he surrendered to follow God to China. 

I think of Elizabeth Elliot, who married Jim, a devoted follower of Jesus. God directed them to serve in Ecuador. The thrill of following God, learning the language, and taking Jesus literally to reach with the gospel to the whole world led them down an adventurous path of making contact with a savage tribe of cannibals in the interior of the jungle. Plans were made for a weekend trip to take the gospel to this tribe. To make face to face contact with them. Previously their contact with this tribe had been from the safety of an airplane flying over the tribe and dropping things into the village as gifts. Friday and Saturday contacts with a few members of the tribe were positive. Elizabeth awaited the Sunday afternoon report by radio. It never came. Jim and four other men were killed and found days later. That was an unexpected consequence of following Jesus. 

We find an unsettling story of obedience and unexpected consequences in Exodus 5. Moses obeyed God by going to Pharaoh and demanding that he let the Israelites go worship. Pharaoh got angry and called the Hebrew slaves lazy. He refused to give them straw for making bricks but required the same quotas as before. The Hebrews were beaten and treated more harshly for Moses' obedience. They turned on Moses and said, "You have made us odious in Pharaoh's sight." 

That was not what Moses thought would happen. Moses returned to God in prayer and asked the question that has been asked millions of times through the ages. Why? Why did God bring harm on the people. Why did God send Moses he wondered out loud. Moses even accused God saying, "You have not delivered the people at all." Unexpected consequences for obedience. 

Following God requires faith. Obedience leading to unexpected consequences requires greater faith. The deeper question is if we will follow, obey, and trust God when we do not understand what He is doing. When things turn out not the way we expected. 

Does God know what He is doing? Of course, He does. He works and weaves His plans in ways too high for us to comprehend. In Moses' case, God hardened Pharaoh's heart in response to increasingly severe judgments until Pharaoh drove the Israelites from the land. Moses could not see that in Exodus 5. You may not be able to see what God is doing in your situation. 

Elizabeth Elliott could not understand as they recovered her husband's body. She trusted God anyway. So much so that she continued her husband's work. She actually lived in the village of those savages and personally led her husband's murderer to faith in Jesus for salvation. Nobody expected that. They expected the grieving widow to return to the safety of the United States. Following God will lead to some unexpected consequences. 

The ways of God can be baffling. The unexpected consequences of obedience can be devastating. Do any of us have the right to accuse God of wrongdoing? I have had to learn that following God by faith does not always lead to success in the eyes of men. I have failed repeatedly, felt humiliated, and embarrassed at God's ways when things did not turn out like I hoped. God used those moments to strip my pride. To demonstrate that I love Him more than I love the applause of men and my reputation. 

Let's face it. Some missionaries are going to be martyred. Not every church is going to grow into a mega church. Not every class is going to outgrow the room. Not every faith step is going to lead to financial prosperity. Some ventures of faith are doomed to fail. Not every prayer for healing results in healing down on earth. What are we to do? Shrink back. Play it safe. Consider the odds of success before obedience. 

Hebrews 11 is one of the more famous chapters of the Bible. We love those faith stories and the ways God intervened miraculously. We love the stories of Noah, Abraham, Sarah, and Moses. What about those in verses 36-38 who were scourged, chained, imprisoned, stoned, sawn in two, and put to death with the sword? Unexpected consequences for following requires faith too. It is those stories and the stories of faithful suffering saints who inspire me the most. 

May God build our faith to trust Him when things do not turn out like we expected. May our faith triumph when following God leads to some unexpected consequences.