Jesus said to [Simon and Andrew], “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” And immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.

Mark 1:16-20

 

We do not lack power because the Holy Spirit abides in every believer, but we may lack obedience to follow His leading and flow with Him. Without obedience, we cannot be effective witnesses for Jesus and continue to encounter Him in fresh new ways. That is the experience of many Christians today. They are no longer thriving as they once were and getting more and more disconnected with God. This makes it easy for them to drift into spiritual boredom and restlessness.

In the gospel of Mark, we observe many instances where the disciples of Jesus demonstrated not only obedience, but immediate obedience. It is this Kingdom attitude that set them apart for greater works. When we delay obeying God, we deny ourselves the opportunity to work with God. Now, it is not that God needs us for His will to happen, rather He calls us to work together with Him to fulfil His will.

If Ananias had delayed praying for Paul, we will not have one of the greatest apostles of grace. If Paul had delayed going to Macedonia, we would not have had one of the greatest mission movements in history. In other words, we cannot claim to worship God if we do not desire to work with God.

True obedience means holding nothing back. It involves inconveniences, sacrifices and, at times, sorrow, and suffering, but when we learn to see everything through the lens of eternity, it is the most worthwhile thing we can do on this side of heaven.