When Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples…He
departed from there to teach and to preach in their cities. —Matthew 11:1
{CHAMBERS} “If
you stayed home when God told you to go because you were so concerned about
your own people there, then you actually robbed them of the teaching of Jesus
Christ Himself. […] Watch where you begin to debate with Him and put what you
call your duty into competition with His commands. If you say, “I know that He
told me to go, but my duty is here,” it simply means that you do not believe
that Jesus means what He says. […] Are we playing the part of an amateur
providence, trying to play God’s role in the lives of others? […] He works
where He sends us to wait. “…tarry…until…” (Luke 24:49). “Wait on the Lord” and
He will work (Psalm 37:34). But don’t wait sulking spiritually and feeling
sorry for yourself, just because you can’t see one inch in front of you! […]
Waiting is not sitting with folded hands doing nothing, but it is learning to
do what we are told.”
{ELGIN} Sometimes the commands of the Lord may seem inconsistent,
even contradictory. On the one hand we
are to be responsible parents and children yet on the other Jesus said “Let the
dead bury the dead” when the young man asked to first bury his father before
following Jesus. (Luke 9:60) He said “If
anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children,
brothers and sisters-yes, even their own life-such a person cannot be my
disciple.” (Luke 14:26 26) All of this has to do with what He said in
Matthew 22:37, “You must love God with
all your heart, mind, soul, and strength”, the greatest commandment. Everything we do must spring out of that love,
our primary focus in this life. That is
Jesus’ point. There is no other “first”,
or at least there should not be. I have
met so many people who heard the call of God, but hesitated because they must “first”. The call of God is a test of faith. There are so many things that compete with
God for first place in our lives. Jesus
did not say you can’t love your family, He was saying you can’t love them more
than God and be obedient to the greatest commandment. (Matthew
6:24) “No one can serve two masters … you will love one and hate the other”
Do you trust God enough to obey Him even if
it means upending you plans for the future? I am grappling with that right
now. I know God moved us back from Haiti
to minister to our family. He has me,
what I call, “chasing zeros and ones” meaning I work as a systems engineer with
computers. That is not how He has shaped
me, at least in my mind, but that is how He is using me. In my case, my struggle is with my love for
full-time ministry and His call for us to raise two teenaged grandchildren. It seems strange. On the one hand, the Lord said “Leave your
family and you and your wife serve others.”
Now He is saying, "Leave serving others and serve your family.” The question is, “Am I willing to be used by
God in any way that He chooses?” My
challenge, to trust God and rest in His sovereignty. But, then again, that is every Christian’s challenge. So what is God telling you to do that you are
resisting?
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