For the past few weeks, the word “obedience” has been in my mind. I’ve listened to sermons at my home church or online that discuss this topic. We say “amen,” but it’s much easier said than done.

I have three things in mind that I think will help lead us to complete obedience in God: faith, trust, and submission. If we don’t believe God will follow through, we can’t trust Him to do so. This leads to us lacking in submission to Him.

Moses was one of the men in the Bible who followed the commands of God. In Exodus two, Moses was born. He was placed in the river where Pharaoh’s daughter found him. He grew up in an Egyptian household always knowing he was a Hebrew. He began to see the turmoil his brethren were facing and was burdened by it, enough to kill a man over it. He felt like he had to protect them.

We fast forward to the burning bush in chapter three where we see Moses’ first real encounter with God. Moses was afraid. Scripture says that God had seen Israel’s tears and sorrows. God saw what His people were enduring, He didn’t turn His head from it. But while watching the Hebrews, he also saw Moses. He even saw Moses’s compassion for his brethren that day he killed the Egyptian. God considered Moses’ sin, knowing that Moses would be the one to lead them out of slavery.

Moses couldn’t see that yet. Exodus 3:11 states, “And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?” God had to activate Moses’ faith before Moses would go to Pharaoh’s palace. Before going to Pharaoh, Moses had to believe that he was capable of doing what God asked him.

If we’re not careful, we can let our own insecurities and low self-esteem prevent us from fulfilling the will of God in our lives. Before God asks us to do anything, He has already considered our faults, our failures, and our sins. God chooses to look at the beautiful things about what He has created. Everyone who will read this is unique, which is why God created the five-fold ministry. We all have something to add to the Kingdom of God.

As God was trying to get Moses to see what He could do, Moses counters what God is saying, as some of us do. God responded lovingly with a simple: “I will be with you.” He reassures Moses that He will bring them out of Egypt. Not only did God want Moses to have faith, but He wanted him to trust in the Lord, even though the mass exodus hadn’t happened yet.

Moses then had to learn to submit himself to the Lord. To submit is to yield our own wills and wants to someone who has authority over us. Even though Moses questioned over and over, he did it anyway. Even though Moses doubted, he still decided to follow the will of God.

From the burning bush to Pharaoh’s palace to separating the red sea, we get to see Moses’ progression in his relationship with God. It grows deeper and deeper. The more Moses followed God’s commands, the more God could trust Moses. Due to Moses’ obedience, God was able to give him the Ten Commandments. Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible but it all started with his obedience.

We may need to be leading people out of slavery, or climbing a literal mountain to speak with God, but we have something so precious and powerful, and that’s the Holy Ghost. We have the Spirit of God to speak to us and to convict and challenge us. We have it to show others the beauty of living a life dedicated to God.

Moses was not mediocre and neither are we. I don’t want to do the minimum for God, I want to do everything I possibly can, even if my voice shakes. God’s word says that He will fight for us and there is nothing that can separate us from His love.

We are not so different from Moses, he was a human being. But at the end of the day, he made a decision and he chose God over himself.

Leah is a graduate from Clemson, South Carolina. She has her Bachelors of Science in Psychology. She attends Sanctuary of Praise where she is the Prayer Coordinator for CalledOut Youth and also helps with homeless ministry. She feels as though writing is a different form of art that can reach people if they’re willing to listen