SCRIPTURE:
16 As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 17 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 18 At once they left their nets and followed him.
Mark 1:16-18
OBSERVATION:
If God were to call you to a greater purpose today, would you leave everything behind and follow Him immediately or would you stop and hesitate?
When Jesus called Simon and Andrew to follow Him, the conditions were neither convenient, nor comfortable. These fishermen were in the midst of their everyday life, doing their everyday job when Jesus approaches them in the ordinary. To Simon and Andrew, this encounter was not planned. They did not expect to hear from Jesus that day. They did not plan to have an encounter with Him. But God had planned this ordinary-yet-momentous day from before they were born.
On this day, God had a purpose for their lives, and Jesus called them to be a part of something greater. Jesus invites them to simply “come” and “follow [Him].” And despite the great inconvenience, uncomfortability, unpredictability, and sacrifice their decisions required, these men did not hesitate. They did not need an explanation. Rather, they followed Him immediately in faith, leaving their nets––and life as they knew it––to pursue the purpose that God had revealed to each of them that day on the shores of Galilee.
APPLICATION:
Have you ever let inconvenient timing prevent you from pursuing the purpose God has for your life?
God is your Father who desires to be in an intimate love relationship with you. He will speak to you in unique ways and reveal His plans for your life directly to you through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, the Church, and through other ways as well. While we often pray “God, speak to me,” oftentimes, that prayer comes with the implicit, unspoken caveat of “when it’s convenient for me.” However, if you want God to speak to you, you must be prepared to take action when He does.
As Blackaby and King write in their bestselling book Experiencing God, “the moment God speaks to you is the time He wants you to respond to Him…He speaks to His servant when He is ready to move. Otherwise, He wouldn’t speak” (Blackaby et al., 2022).
The moment God speaks to you is the time that He wants you to respond to His call. What has God already spoken to you that you have been putting off? Has He revealed His purpose for your life? Is there an action He wants you to take? A person He wants you to talk to? A change He’s asked you to make in your life? If He has, the time to respond to Him is now. Stop waiting, and go for it.
God is waiting for you to respond to His call. And when you do, you’ll find His best for your life waiting for you on the other side.
PRAYER:
God,
Thank You that You have created me with purpose. Thank You for loving me so much that you desire to be in relationship with me and that You speak to me directly. You have revealed Your plans and purposes for my life, and right now, I choose to respond to Your call. By faith, I put my trust in You, and I say “Yes!” Help me to finish the work You’ve already begun in me, and help me to complete the calling You have given me, for apart from You, I can do nothing. You have my heart.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
Works Cited:
Blackaby, H., Blackaby, R., Blackaby, M., & King, C. (2022). Experiencing God: Knowing & doing the will of God. Lifeway Press.
