“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.”
—Hebrews 11:8
Have you ever been called and challenged of God to step out? You didn’t exactly know what or where or why, but you were believing God and leaving the known for the unknown.
Don’t ever worry about the unknown if you’re walking in faith and believing and following God. The time to worry is when you’re living in disobedience. Even the known in disobedience is a scary way to live.
Now Abraham had no clue as to where he was going. He just pursued God. The call of God for Abraham and for us is not so much to a place but to a person. It is not geographical; it is personal. So many, when talking about following God, they want to know, “Well, where am I supposed to go to follow God”, or “What am I supposed to do to follow God?”
That’s really not our question. Not what or where, but the issue is WHO? Who are you going to follow? And if you follow God… if you passionately pursue Him… if you personally pursue God, He will lead you.
Just as it is so much easier to turn a moving car than one that is parked, so it is when we’re moving forward that God is able to move us and direct us in the pathway that is best for us.
TO LOVE GOD IS TO OBEY GOD, TO OBEY GOD IS TO SERVE GOD, AND TO SERVE GOD IS TO GLORIFY GOD!
Friday, March 15, 2019
by Dr. Paul Chappell
“Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Do all things without murmurings and disputings: That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;”
Philippians 2:12–15
When Mary Slessor heard that David Livingstone had died in Africa, she was convinced that God’s call was for her to become a missionary. Though it was rare for a single woman to be approved as a missionary, she sailed for Nigeria in 1876. Her work there bore great fruit. In addition to helping spread the gospel, she helped put an end to the practice of killing twins at birth because of the local belief that they were a curse. After a few years on the field, she was visited by friends from Scotland who expressed amazement at what she had been able to accomplish in the face of such great obstacles. One of the native chiefs who had been converted said, “You have clearly forgotten to think of the woman’s God.”
Though we are to be diligent in our labor for the Lord, we must never forget that it is not our strength, wisdom, and effort that bring the results. Paul wrote, “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase” (1 Corinthians 3:6). Remembering how dependent we are on God’s power to make our work have meaning, value, and results helps keep us from yielding to the sin of pride. The praise and glory and honor must go to Him alone, because it is He alone who makes the work that we do fruitful.
Today's Growth Principle:
Only when we work in God’s power, will we see the results that only He can produce in our lives.
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