THE OBEDIENCE OF INACTION
1 Kings 8:17-19 (NIV 1984) 17 “My father David had it in his heart to build a temple for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel. 18 But the LORD said to my father David, ‘Because it was in your heart to build a temple for my Name, you did well to have this in your heart. 19 Nevertheless, you are not the one to build the temple, but your son, who is your own flesh and blood–he is the one who will build the temple for my Name.’
What’s on our hearts to do? Is it for us to organize or are we to support someone else who does the organizing? Maybe we aren’t to do anything; maybe were are to simply and earnestly pray. Sometimes obedience is the obedience of inaction, where we do not do, but pray for God to raise up someone else to do. Our Lord instructs us to pray that He sends laborers into the harvest. Prayer matters and prayer is not inaction; it is doing something, something very important, but for some reason in our unbelieving minds, it is not enough. I heard a preacher say once, “There is a time to pray and a time to proceed.” Certainly, that is a true statement, but the implication was that we mostly pray too much and do too little; though sometimes this may be true, so could the opposite. Among the committed in the church, that all-too-familiar 20% doing 80% of the work, there is the tendency to work a lot and pray a little, and this is not okay. There are times when God’s primary call is to pray. God puts things on our hearts, and He does so to share with us, fellowship, and bring us into partnership with Him, but having a heart for something does not necessarily mean a calling to do it; certainly, it could mean that, but it could also be a calling to pray, give, or provide modest assistance where needed. It’s not about us, but something much bigger. Good intentions are good, and God sees them, and those intentions often should translate into some sort of action, but that action could be primary or secondary. Primary action would mean we are called to lead out and organize that which is in our hearts, but it could also be secondary, where we support someone else who takes the lead. We could also be called to pray, and prayer is not secondary. The late Jerry Falwell is remembered for saying, “Nothing of eternal value is ever accomplished apart from prayer.” Prayer is primary, and what God puts on our hearts is primarily meant for the purpose of prayer. “Pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” (Lk 10:2) We pray; God sends. It’s the order of kingdom things. The obedience for which He is looking may be an obedience of inaction, though there is really no such thing; for, obedience, even if it involves waiting, or deferring to someone else, is itself an action.
David had good intentions, and God honored those; He put those intentions in His heart, yet those intentions were not to be an automatic call to primary duty. When God puts something on our hearts it might be disobedient for us to presume we are to take the lead. We are to be a people who are led by the Spirit, who walk in the Spirit, following His leadership; and, while we are sometimes guilty of procrastination, we are just as guilty of presumption when we step out and do what God has not called us to do. The heart to serve the Lord must always lead us to ask the specifics of when, how, and even if He wants us to act. David didn’t build but waited and allowed his son to build. He had his part by providing instruments and instructions for the worshipers (1 Chron 23:5; 2 Chron 8:14), but he did not build. This should free us from the self-serving idea that so much of God’s work depends on us; we can then get comfortable with our part, which will most certainly require obedience and sacrifice, but may not be the “big thing” for which we secretly hope, the thing that feeds our need to feel important and provide a distraction from those deep-seeded insecurities that haunt us. Paul and his companions were kept from preaching the word of God in Asia; they were led to Macedonia instead (Acts 16:6-10). The fleshly Christian mind would say, “But Asia needs the gospel,” or, “We have a heart for Asia.” Both statements are legitimate, but what is missing is the call of God. Let us be free from the overwhelming sense of “ought”, I ought to do this or that, and let us be about the work we have received from the Lord (Col 4:17). It might be prayer; it might be the “big thing” where we organize and mobilize thousands; it might be simply serving other ministries; it might be raising Godly children; it might be working hard to provide for our families; or, it might be loving our co-workers and neighbors in simple, practical ways, but whatever it is, it will be to serve Him, His people, His purposes, and not our insecurities. Maybe our obedience is to be an obedience of inaction. If we can be at peace with that, we might just be ready for the “big thing”, but if not, does it really matter?
