And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt. Mark 14:36

Nevertheless isn’t a word we use in modern English. Its primary meaning is “in spite of” It indicates a change of direction. One of my favorite uses of it in the Word is when Peter stands in his boat, exhausted from a full night of fishing, having caught nothing. The Lord had already interrupted his cleaning of the nets to have him push out away from the shore a bit so that he could teach the people that had gathered to hear Him speak. Now Jesus asks even more of Peter. Peter is, I’m sure, tired, frustrated, and ready to get some rest.

And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. Luke 5:5

We know that what followed was a catch of fish so large that it threatened to sink two boats. And, it only happened because Peter was obedient to the command of the Lord. He didn’t act out of desire, he wasn’t excited about what he was about to do, he saw it for what it was, additional work. However, in the act of obedience, he received a blessing that was far beyond anything he could have imagined.

I think, at times, we think that we are supposed to be thrilled and excited by everything we do for the Lord. That we are supposed to go into every effort overjoyed at the thought of serving the Lord. Far too many people skip church services because they’re tired or sleepy or otherwise not in the perfect mindset to worship. But, the thing is, if we come obediently, even if we’re not in the right mindset when we start, He will supply blessings that far out weigh what we expect. There have been church services that I have literally had to talk myself into attending that have left me so full and appreciative of who He is that I couldn’t imagine having missed it to save myself a little physical discomfort. There have been things that I have taken on, feeling led to do them by the Holy Spirit, and the work was long, and at times hard, but at the end of the day, it is always worth it to follow His Holy leadership.

Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? Luke 6:46

When Christ compared His followers to the wise men building his house on the rock, he started out the parable with an admonition. Why do we hear and understand what He wants us to do, and yet fail to do it? By not following His explicit instructions, we are opening ourselves up to failure during the inevitable storms of life. Building a life of obedience does far more than get a lot of work done for the Lord, it creates a bond between servant and Master, King and subject, Father and child that is strong enough to weather any storms life may throw at us.

That doesn’t mean we always skip merrily into our life of duty with the Lord. In the garden of Gethsemane, we see the Lord Himself begging the Father to take the cup he was about to bear away from Him if at ALL possible. Yet in the end, He recognized that it is the will of the Father that matters most in our lives. As bitter as the cup before Him was, He accepted the Father’s will and took the cross, and OH! how we have been blessed by His obedience!

There are some matters of obedience that are plain and simple, we are commanded to do them. Being active in our church, attending services, studying at home, and spending time in prayer: all of these activities are to be done without excuse. As go farther into your walk with our Lord, you may hear Him whisper other things into your heart. He may have more things for you to do in His service: teaching Sunday School, working in the church, heading up a VBS, the list can go on and on. In these things, we should be obedient, even when it seems inconvenient.

Sometimes… we have to take a deep breath, and say: “Lord, the cares of this world have worn me out; I’m weary and I need Your help… NEVERTHELESS, I will be obedient to Your will in my life.” We have His promise: our work for Him will never ever be in vain!