I recently heard someone offering a prayer to God, and part
of it said:
“Yes, Lord, we will go where You want us to go… which is
most likely right where we are.”
That comment got my attention.
It started with the language of obedience, go where
You want us to go, and then neutralized. Surrender was acknowledged
and then explained away. The door was opened long enough to sound faithful and
then shut and we go back to our comfort zone.
A statement like that can sound harmless and practical.
I mean, why would God call me to foster a child?
Why would He call me to start a Bible study for the homeless?
Why would He call me to collect clothes for the needy, build homes with Habitat
for Humanity, step away from a comfortable career, or start a church where I
don’t know anyone, drive 40 minutes out of my way every week, to sit in the
cold to talk to one lonely man I met outside a gas station..?
Why would He ask me to do something that seems crazy… when
staying “right where I am” is the most comfortable, passive thing I can do?
Don’t get me wrong, I understand that God
often does call people to be faithful right where they are. Scripture
shows that. It's not whether God sometimes tells us to stay. The issue is
the assumption that He probably will... and the comfort that
assumption provides before our obedience is ever tested.
That simple follow-up phrase... “which is most
likely right where we are” is subtle, but powerful. It lowers
expectations. It reassures us that God will never ask you to do something that
would disrupt our lives. It's almost like we assume God says, 'Relax… your
calling won’t cost you anything'.
That’s not how the apostles understood calling. They took it
seriously, knowing full well it could, and often did, cost them their lives.
That prayer gave us the idea of radical obedience and then
squashed it. Almost like saying, God is gathering an army for His
purposes… but whoa whoa, relax, sit back down, it’s probably not you.
We cannot acknowledge His call and then set boundaries around it and surrender
on our terms.
And when this kind of language comes from a pulpit, it’s not
just them telling us their personal opinion, it can train the way people
think.
Does comfort equal obedience?
Is our calling simply to stay where we are, do what we already do, and remain
comfortably unchanged?
Can we honestly pray, “God, I’ll go wherever You
want me to go,” while assuming He will never ask us to do something
that rearranges our lives?
Isaiah’s calling was anything but comfortable. At one point,
God told him to walk naked and barefoot for three and a half years, and he
obeyed (Isaiah 20). Isaiah could have easily responded, “C'mon God, I'm
sure You don’t mean all my clothes… or that long.” He just obeyed.
Paul didn’t plan his journeys around convenience. He knew
what he was signing up for... the beatings, prison, torture, and still sang
praises in chains, thanking God that he was found worthy to suffer.
Prayers that sound reasonable can be dangerous. They can
sound bold and ready while protecting us from interruption.
The real question isn’t whether we say we’re
willing. It’s whether we’re actually willing to have our lives disrupted for
the work of the Lord… for the Great Commission.
We can’t talk boldly like disciples while not being willing
to live like disciples, as scary and intimidating as that can be!
We can’t sing about being sent and never expect to go.
We can’t pray “Send me” and already make up our minds that He would
not actually send us, afterall it would disrupt our schedule.
If that’s our position and belief, we shouldn’t be surprised
if we never recognize His voice when He does call.
The problem isn’t that God isn’t calling.
It’s that we’ve learned to explain why there is no way it could mean me!
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