Knowing & Doing

Let’s talk about the difference between knowing and doing.

There’s a big gap between the two, isn’t there? We can know the right thing — and still struggle to do it.

James 4:17 says, “It is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.”

That’s a hard truth, but also a loving reminder. God doesn’t just call us to believe what’s right — He calls us to live it out.

Knowing without doing is like having a map but never taking a step. You might understand where to go, but you’ll never reach the destination.

The truth is, God’s Word isn’t meant to sit in our minds — it’s meant to move through our lives.

Faith in action is where growth happens. It’s where truth becomes transformation.

So today, maybe ask yourself — what has God already shown me that I need to start doing?

Life is so interesting. There is a list of things that we just know we shouldn’t do and ones we know we should do. Then throw in following Christ and those lists grow a bit.

But if we were obedient and followed pretty clearly, I don’t think we would need the Holy Spirit to convict us because we would perfectly follow everything — but we aren’t perfect, and we make mistakes, and God knows that, which is why we have the guilty feeling in our stomachs or our minds when we do something we probably shouldn’t have done.

When we are walking the line of knowing and doing, we need to listen to the guidance of the Holy Spirit so that we stay in the will of God and keep our hearts and minds aligned with God.

If there is any uncertainty, ask God for clarity — and then follow.

I think the knowing-then-doing is the hardest when the doing comes with an unknown.

Think about it: God can call us to something, but if we don’t have a clear understanding of the outcome of our obedience, we will find ourselves not really doing anything.

The thing about obedience is that it takes faith. It takes faith because when we take the step, regardless of having all the details, we are showing God that our trust lies in Him and not the things of this world. It shows that we believe in God’s plan and know that He will provide any and everything.

It is in the knowing and doing that we are absolutely saying, “Here I am; send me,” and meaning it.

Knowing and doing is hard. I mean, just because I know what to do and how to do it doesn’t mean I want to do it.

But it doesn’t matter what we want to do; it matters that we do it anyway.

So many times in life, we come across things that we do out of reluctance. The outcome could be that we just did it, or the outcome could be that we did it and got a blessing from it. Now, when being obedient, we don’t need to be looking to get something from it other than knowing we did what was asked of us — and that knowledge can be a blessing in itself.

Don’t weigh everything out when God has directed you to do something — just be obedient. Know what is needed and go do it.

God will see your obedience, and with that, you will know that you made your Father proud.

It’s easy to treat faith like information — learning more, reading more, listening more. But spiritual maturity isn’t measured by how much we know; it’s measured by how much we obey.

Sometimes we delay obedience because we’re waiting for perfect timing or perfect conditions. But the longer we wait, the easier it becomes to justify inaction.

James 4:17 says, “It is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.”

James doesn’t leave much room for that delaying-obedience stuff. He says knowing what’s right but not doing it is sin.

That might sound harsh, but it’s freeing when you realize what it really means: God trusts you with truth because He knows you’re capable of living it out.

You don’t need to have it all figured out — you just need to take the next faithful step.

Do what’s right, even when it’s hard.

Forgive. Apologize. Reach out. Give. Pray. Serve.

Because when you move from knowing to doing, you move from comfort to growth — and from information to transformation.

Knowing and doing makes me think of the teenage years when a parent may have told us to do something before they got home, and it was put off until about 20 minutes or so before they actually got home — and it was finished just in time, and so you didn’t get into trouble.

We knew what we were told, and we probably should have done it right away, but instead we decided to walk that line of obedience.

God calls us to things, and we can do this same thing… put it off until we feel the absolute pressure — then we do it.

But really, the Bible tells us to do it as soon as we are directed. We just don’t do things that way… We need to be careful not to walk the line of obedience in any situation. God knows and sees all, so He knows right away if you will obey or not.

Have you ever been alone, and you did something, and you think, If anyone were actually watching this, I would not be doing this?

This is an interesting concept… We have all had those moments. Whether it’s something serious or silly, we’ve done it.

The problem comes into play when those thoughts trigger guilt. Oh, I shouldn’t have done that… and you kind of reprimand yourself.

That is immediate confirmation from the Holy Spirit that you shouldn’t have done whatever it was that was done, even if you are just by yourself.

Now, there will be times when it’s just you being down on yourself because of expectations, but it’s the guilt that is the factor here. When we know that we really shouldn’t have done whatever, then we need to stop, pray, and ask for forgiveness.

This helps us to reset and realign ourselves with the Lord.

Sometimes the hardest part of obedience is the small stuff — the quiet, daily moments when no one’s watching.

You know you should speak gently instead of reacting in anger.

You know you should pray before worrying.

You know you should follow through on that promise or that nudge in your heart.

Those little choices matter.

James 4:17 says, “It is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.”

God’s not after perfection; He’s after alignment. He wants your actions to match your beliefs.

When your doing lines up with your knowing, there’s peace. There’s integrity. There’s blessing.

And that’s where real spiritual maturity begins — not in just learning about God, but in living like Him.

Doing what I should be doing is always on the forefront of my mind, and this is because I don’t want to be holding on to anything I shouldn’t, and I also don’t want to be doing something I shouldn’t.

So, I actually often wonder if I’m doing all I can do. This is from my people-pleasing mentality that the Lord has helped me with. Even though I want to please the Lord, I know that there is a right way to do it, and so I do think about it often.

I’ve learned so much — it is not how much I do but how much I obey.

When we strive to do as the Lord leads, we will find that we are obeying more than we think we might be. We can also find that when it comes to forgiveness as well. Where once forgiveness seemed hard, we find it easier when the Lord is the one in the center of it.

Sometimes obeying the Lord is listening to what He says about us.

We are all guilty of not speaking gently to ourselves or even forgiving ourselves. It can be so hard to seek those things for ourselves. I always find it interesting that I am willing to teach these things and help others learn to follow through with these, but it is something I’m not good at.

I do my best to catch myself and maybe not even say things out loud to myself, because once something is said out loud, it is more likely to stick with us.

I would rather use that hearing it out loud toward reading God’s Word out loud and hearing what He says about me.

This is a process, but it is also a way to learn to hear God’s voice so that when He tells me something, I will more easily hear and obey Him.

When we believe, we find it easier to obey and not question — and that even includes how we view ourselves.

Faith is more than knowledge; it’s movement.

James 4:17 says, “It is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.”

That’s not condemnation — that’s invitation. God is calling you to put what you know into practice, not because He needs perfection, but because He wants partnership.

Every time you choose to act on truth, you’re saying, “God, I trust You more than my comfort.”

So today, don’t just know what’s right — do it.

Be the one who follows through, who forgives first, who serves quietly, who listens to God’s leading.

Because when your faith turns into action, your life becomes a living testimony — and that’s when the world starts to see Jesus in you.