From Understanding to Action

I woke up the other morning and in my quiet time I asked the Lord what he was up to. I immediately heard Isaiah 42. I read verses 6-9 and it got me thinking. He does not give us things (promises, commands, our callings, or identity)  just for our understanding (head knowledge), but His expectation is that we move from understanding into action. You see, understanding without action creates religion. It creates a doctrine with no power. The implication is that we don't just understand what He is calling us to, but that we actually do something with that calling. Let me explain: verse 7 says that we are to release from prison those that are captive and to release from the dungeon those who are in darkness. In other words, there are people who are totally bound and tormented and need to be set free. He says that we are called to do that. We can have understanding that we are supposed to do that, but it doesn't happen until we find people who are held captive in darkness and set them free. Let's look at it a different way. If a parent tells their child to clean their room and all the child says is "Mom, Dad, I understand you, that feels right. I know I have been called to clean my room. Thank you for pointing that out", but the room never gets clean, nothing has happened and nothing has changed. Obedience is not defined by understanding it is defined by action.

We are alive for a reason. If we weren't, then we would have been taken to heaven the minute we got saved, but we are here to introduce the world to an amazing God who outrageously loves them. He gave us the amazing responsibility to SHOW the world who He is. It is not enough for us to just know our responsibility, but we must really do it. If we want to release people out of darkness, then we have to find people that are "in the dark" and show them the light. If we want to save the lost, then we have to find lost people to save. If we want to see the sick healed, then we have to find people that are sick and pray for them. It all happens when our understanding partners with action. That's when we start to see transformation.