Obeying God Even When It Means Standing Out

Obedience to God is rarely the path of least resistance. More often, it’s the path that sets us apart, pushes us out of comfort, and forces us value pleasing God over looking foolish to the world.

But Scripture shows us over and over—the safest place to stand is in the center of God’s will, even if it means standing alone.

Jesus said it plainly:
“If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.”
— Matthew 16:24

A cross is not comfortable.
A cross is not popular.
A cross is not applauded.

But obedience to God carries eternal weight while worldly acceptance fades like a mist.

When Obedience Looks Foolish to the World

Noah — Blind Obedience

Noah obeyed God’s instruction to build an ark before rain was a reality anyone understood. In Genesis 6, we see that the men of the world had become full of wickedness, but there was one who stood out, "Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord." (Gensis 6:8) In his mercy, God decided to preserve all mankind by instructing Noah to build an ark for his family and for the creatures of the earth, He gave Noah very specific instructions, and we don't see Noah giving any type of pushback or questioning, it simply says:

“Thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him so he did.”
— Genesis 6:22

To the world, he may have looked foolish.
To God, he looked faithful.

His immediate and absolute obedience preserved his family and ultimately mankind.

Lesson:

Obedience may look illogical, but God sees what’s ahead. The cost of disobedience is always far greater than the cost of standing out.

David — Courage in the Crowd

David wasn’t even a soldier, but he walked onto a battlefield with nothing more than faith. In fact when David volunteered to fight Goliath, King Saul told him "You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth." (I Samuel 17:33). But David didn't take no for an answer, he told King Saul "The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." (I Samuel 17:37). Then, David didn't even take a sword into battle, nor did he have a coat of armor, he went into battle with 5 smooth stones and a sling (I Samuel 17:40) and he did the impossible because as he told Goliath right before the launched a stone that would defeat him:

“For the battle is the Lord’s.”
— 1 Samuel 17:47

The entire Israelite army was afraid to answer Goliath's challenge, but David’s obedience moved him into the place of God’s victory.

Lesson:

Sometimes God asks us to face giants others won’t—because our obedience will reveal His glory.

Moses — When You Think No One Will Believe God Called You

When Moses saw the burning bush and heard the voice of God calling his name in Exodus 3 Moses responded with "Here I am" or Hineni in Hebrew. This indicates a spirit of obedience and willingness to go where God sends. Moses may have had some reservations about his abilities and even if he would be taken seriously and believed (Exodus 4:1), but ultimately he obeyed and Moses stood in front of the most powerful ruler on earth and delivered God’s message:

“Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Let My people go.’”
— Exodus 5:1

He didn’t feel qualified. He didn’t feel capable. He worried that he was going to be called a liar.
But he obeyed.

Lesson:

Obedience may lead us into intimidating conversations, but God equips the one He calls. We don't have to have anything except a willing heart.

Joshua — An Interesting War Strategy....March around the city, blow the horns and then shout really loud?

Joshua had seen a wonder working God prior to the victory in Jericho, after all he was part of the generation of Israelites that fled Pharoah under Moses, wandered in the desert 40 years, saw manna from heaven delivered daily for sustenance and water come from rock. So perhaps the instructions from God’s instructions for Jericho weren't that unusual given what he had seen:

“You shall march around the city…This shall you do six days....But the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. It shall come to pass, when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people shall shout with a great shout; then the wall of the city will fall down flat....”
— Joshua 6:3-5

No weapons. No typical assault strategy.
Just worship and obedience.

And the walls crumbled.

Lesson:

God can win battles in unexpected ways, we just have to listen and obey. He doesn't need the typical weapons to win the war. The battle belongs to Him, we just have to trust.

Gideon — You don't need a mighty army when you have Almighty God on your side

Gideon started with an army of 32,000 soldiers, already outnumbered by the Midianites. Yet God said:

“The people with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Isreal claim glory for itself against Me saying, My own hand has saved me”
— Judges 7:2

God stripped the army down—first to 10,000, then to 300.

This made no military sense. But obedience rarely does. God wanted the Israelites to know who delivered them from the Midianites, to understand it was His love and mercy for them that freed them again from their oppressors.

“And the Lord said to Gideon, ‘With the 300 men… I will save you, and deliver the Midianites into your hand....’”
— Judges 7:7

Little is much when God is in it. Gideon said he was from the weakest clan and the least of his fathers house(Judges 6:15), but God didn't want a brave soldier who would claim the victory for himself. Gideon was obedient to God and gave God all the glory for the victory.

Lesson: Sometimes obedience means letting go of what feels “safe” so God can show us His power in ways we never expected.

I Don't Want to Lose My Soul Chasing After Things That Don't Lead Me Straight to You

Caring More About What God Thinks of Us than What People Around Us Think of Us

Every one of the people we just talked about probably looked foolish to the outside world observing their actions. When you're not hearing the voice of God yourself and understanding His calling on your life, building an ark for a flood that hasn't happened, a boy approaching a giant with no weapons or marching around a city as the battle attack could all seem concerning. But to believers, these acts of obedience are inspiring testimonies of what God can do with ordinary people and a willing heart.

There have been things I have done, stepping out of a career, starting this podcast and website, moving to new states and communities that were out of character for me, but they were acts of obedience to God. Even close family questioned those decisions and didn't understand even after I said that God was calling me to do them, but that was okay because I knew in my heart I was in alignment with His will and I trusted that He would let me know if I wasn't. But I'm learning how to hear and obey those nudges that tell me to offer to pray for strangers, to be bolder in the faith, to look "foolish".

And Scripture commands:

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable perfect will of God.”
— Romans 12:2

Chasing acceptance shapes us into the world.
Chasing obedience shapes us into Christ.

James gives a sobering warning:

“Friendship with the world is enmity with God.”
— James 4:4

We cannot chase the applause of people and the approval of God at the same time.

This same trap cost King Saul his calling:

“I feared the people and obeyed their voice.”
— 1 Samuel 15:24

People-pleasing dethroned him—and it can derail us too.

Jesus asked:

“What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?”
— Matthew 16:26

You can gain approval.
You can gain success.
You can gain attention.

And still lose your soul in the process.

I don’t want that.
I don’t want to trade eternal joy for temporary applause.
I don’t want acceptance that costs me obedience.

The Blessing on the Other Side of Obedience

God promises:

“Those who honor Me I will honor.”
— 1 Samuel 2:30

Jesus adds:

“Blessed are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”
— Luke 11:28

Obedience is not about impressing God—
it’s about trusting Him.

It’s about believing that His will is better than our comfort
and His approval is better than the world’s applause.

A Prayer

Lord, help me obey You even when it makes me stand out.
Give me courage to choose Your voice over the opinions of people.
Protect me from the desire to be liked more than the desire to be faithful.
Strip away any part of me that chases worldly acceptance.
I don’t want anything that leads me away from You.
Teach me to love obedience, trust Your ways, and walk boldly in Your will—
even when it costs me something.
My soul is worth more than the world’s approval.
Amen.