God Calling

A professor sat at his desk one evening working on the next day's lectures. His housekeeper had laid that day's mail and papers on his desk, and he began to shuffle through them discarding most in the wastebasket. He then noticed a magazine, which was not even addressed to him but delivered to his office by mistake. It fell open to an article titled "The Needs of the Congo Mission."

Casually he began to read when he was suddenly consumed by these words: "The need is great here. We have no one to work the northern province of Gabon in the central Congo. And it is my prayer as I write this article that God will lay His hand on one--one on whom, already, the Master's eyes have been cast--that he or she shall be called to this place to help us." Professor Albert Schweitzer closed the magazine and wrote in his diary: "My search is over." He gave himself to the Congo.

God may be calling you. Perhaps He's calling you to a ministry. Maybe He's calling you to put away habits that are hindering your spiritual growth. How should you respond? Let's look at the example of Abraham.

What Does God Say?

God told Abram: "The Lord had said to Abram, 'Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father's family, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you."
"So Abram departed as the Lord had instructed, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. He took his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all his wealth--his livestock and all the people he had taken into his household at Haran--and headed for the land of Canaan." (Genesis 12:1-5, NLT).
Obedient faith, that's how to begin the journey--especially the journey of leaving the past and/or our past lives behind. And when we respond to God and His guiding, we'll find ourselves on the journey of a lifetime--a journey that God blesses.

• What are the lessons you learn from Abraham's response to God's call in the above Scripture?
• Which of these lessons do you have the most difficulty applying?
• What did God promise Abraham?

My Thoughts

When God calls us to leave behind our old lives, it doesn't necessarily mean a physical leaving like Abraham's move to a distant land, but it could mean something even harder--like leaving bad relationships or old habits.

• How can you let go of those kinds of things in order to follow Jesus?
• How will you measure your success?

My Part

Get alone with God. Spend time in prayer. Make the right decisions, decisions that square with God's will and God's Word. And then, spend a lot of time in prayer asking the Holy Spirit to give you strength, to give you wisdom, to give you the right timing and the courage necessary to step out on your journey of faith. If you have someone who can help you, then accept their support; if not, the Holy Spirit is more than enough help to give you a clean break with your past.