The king commanded all the people, “Celebrate the Passover to the Lord your God as it is written in this Book of the Agreement.” The Passover had not been celebrated like this since the judges led Israel. Nor had one like it happened while there were kings of Israel and kings of Judah. This Passover was celebrated to the Lord in Jerusalem in the eighteenth year of King Josiah’s rule. Josiah destroyed the mediums, fortune-tellers, house gods, and idols. He also destroyed all the hated gods seen in the land of Judah and Jerusalem. This was to obey the words of the teachings written in the book Hilkiah the priest had found in the Temple of the Lord. There was no king like Josiah before or after him. He obeyed the Lord with all his heart, soul, and strength, following all the Teachings of Moses. (2 Kings 23:21-25)

Josiah’s obedience to God set him apart. Not only was the Passover unlike any others since the judges led Israel but also “there was no ling like Josiah before or after him.” Because of his response to God’s will, Josiah was an exception among many kings. He was an exception not because of anything he accomplished but because of who he became. He was willing to be God’s vessel. He didn’t do things his own way but God’s way. “He obeyed the Lord with all his heart, soul, and strength.”

How completely are you obeying God with all your heart?

How completely are you obeying God with all your soul?

How completely are you obeying God with all your strength?

You can certainly identify shortcomings, yet if you focus too much on the shortcomings, you might be in danger of getting stuck where you are or trying to get out of where you are on your own. When we focus on what complete obedience entails, we can trust God to equip and encourage us to move. He will give us what we need to take a step, then another and another.

We can’t do it without him. Oh, we can certainly try, but if we’re trying to completely obey him without fully trusting him to guide and provide, we will not grow in our obedience. We will only struggle in our own strength. Only God can fill in the gaps between where we are and where we can be in complete obedience.

Are you will to yield to and trust God along the journey to obey God with all your heart, soul, and strength? God knows what he’s doing. Josiah became a man set apart for God because he sought and followed God instead of doing things his own way.

Are you willing to do the same, not in theory, but in practice…right now? Invite God to set you apart in obedience.