“Obedience Before Success”

“God is looking for shepherds who will lead despite their circumstances, not because of them.” This statement from Heather Thompson Day, shared during our pastors’ meeting at La Sierra University last Tuesday, has lingered deeply in my heart. It echoes what I have been learning from the life of William Miller—a man who chose obedience to God’s call despite every obstacle that stood in his path.

William Miller modeled a profound trust in God’s timing. From the moment he encountered his Savior, Jesus, he leaned fully on divine guidance. God honored this reliance by affirming Miller’s faith through signs—both small and great—that confirmed His leading. When Miller wrestled with whether he should share his studies on the Second Coming, he prayed for clear confirmation. Almost immediately, his nephew arrived with an invitation to preach. Overwhelmed, Miller initially resisted the task. Like Moses before him, he offered objections. Yet, just as God did with Moses, He patiently answered Miller’s uncertainties, bringing him to the point of surrender and obedience—an example that continues to bless us even today.

We, on the other hand, often struggle with the fear of failure. We tend to decline God’s call to ministry or service when we calculate—on our own terms—that success is unlikely. From a human perspective, Jesus’ first sermon in Luke 4 might even be seen as a failure: “So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust Him out of the city... that they might throw Him down over the cliff.” (Luke 4:28–29, NKJV)

Yet Jesus did not measure that moment by its reception, but by His obedience. God is not merely seeking our success; He is shaping our faith through obedience. In His kingdom, it is faithful obedience—whether praised or opposed—that truly overcomes. I wonder, where might God be calling you to obey, even when success is not guaranteed?

-Pastor Lim