The story behind the hymn “TRUST AND OBEY”
One night at a Dwight L. Moody evangelistic meeting in
Brockton, Massachusetts, a young man stood up to testify about his confidence
of salvation. He said, “I am not quite
sure,” meaning that he wasn’t really certain that God would save him from his
sins—and then he continued, “But I’m going to trust, and I’m going to
obey”—meaning that he planned to trust God for his salvation and to do what he
could to obey God’s will.
“I’m going to trust, and I’m going to obey.” Daniel Towner was the song leader for that
meeting. He was so impressed by the
young man’s testimony that he wrote down those words and stuck them in his
pocket. Later, he wrote a friend, John
Sammis. In his letter, he told about the
young man’s testimony and included the young man’s words: “I am not quite sure, but I’m going to trust,
and I’m going to obey.”
Sammis quickly transformed those words into a hymn
chorus: “Trust and obey, For there’s no
other way To be happy in Jesus, But to trust and obey.” Soon he had five
stanzas to go with the chorus, and he sent them to Towner, who composed the
tune that we still sing today.
When I read that story, I thought about the young man whose
quiet, spontaneous testimony inspired a hymn that has meant so much to millions
of people all over the world. No one
knows his name. I seriously doubt that
the young man ever knew that his testimony had borne fruit.
I find that encouraging, because it reminds me that God can
use every faithful word that we utter and every faithful deed that we do in
ways beyond our imagining. I believe
that, when we get to heaven, God will show us how much he has done with the
little deeds and kindnesses that we have long since forgotten.
“I’m going to trust, and I’m going to obey.” I can’t think of a better life-plan than
that.
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