"Do It"

You just don’t know about the buck,

Till you step on and try your luck,

Can’t be afraid, your tail to tuck,

Or you can’t know about the buck.

You’ll never know if you can rope,

There in the truck you cannot cope,

Just swing your twine like you have hope,

Or you can’t know if you can rope.

You’ll never know if you can gather,

If all you do is watch ‘em scatter,

Spur that horse into a lather,

Or you won’t know if you can gather.

How can you know if you can brand,

Unless with fire you make a hand,

And throw those calves into the sand,

Else you can’t know if you can brand.

Do you know how to set a post,

Make it straight, hard-packed the most,

So firmly there, the wire to host,

Else building fence is only boast.

I could go on, I think you see, 

No matter that you wanna be,

Just get ‘er done, that is the key

Or you won’t know the haw from gee.

The same is true for Christian folk,

Some pretenders make their smoke,

But real ones wearing Jesus’ yoke,

Obey the Lord, and that’s no joke.

So go on doing what you do,

But just make sure your do is true,

To the Lord who ransomed you,

You are not real unless you do.

“But don’t just listen to God’s Word. You must do what it says…” (James 1:22, NLT)

Being a doer of the Word is God’s will for every believer. It’s all about application, which is the ongoing challenge for all of us. Obedience, according to the New Testament, is directly tied to abiding in Christ and being empowered by the Holy Spirit. Doing what the Lord says comes down to cooperating with the grace we are given to actually hear Him and do what He says. Simple, but no less profound. And it’s actually the life of Jesus flowing through us that makes this happen. We choose to die to our old selves and rely upon His Spirit to help us apply His Word to every circumstance, relationship and challenge. There is great joy and blessing when we give up our selfishness and decide to wholeheartedly follow Jesus.

Lord, help us be doers and not just hearers of Your Word, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Mark Maggiori, markmaggiori.com. Used by permission. Thanks, Mark, and God bless you.