The Call To Go
Wednesday October 16, 2013
Yesterday, as we looked at this lovely story of a potter making a clay pot, we noticed that Jeremiah listened for God's word, obeyed what he was told, and because of that people for thousands of years have been blessed. Another significant fact to notice about Jeremiah's response is that when God told him to "Go" he went, even though he didn't know why he was to go, or what was going to happen when he got there. God told him to go to the potter's house and after he obeyed this instruction, God would tell him the next instruction.
This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. Then the word of the Lord came to me. He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel. (Jeremiah 18:1-6 NIV)
God instructs us to go. He tells us where to go. Often, He only shows us the purpose for going after we get there. However, we usually want to know everything ahead of time. We want God’s plan to fit what we’ve already planned or envisioned. God often has different plans He’s trying to communicate to us. Will we listen? Will we go? Will we go where God sends us? Will we do what God wants us to do when we get there?
We have many examples from the Bible of people who did just this:
1. Genesis 12:4 (NIV): “So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran.” Abraham was an old man going to an unknown place and for decades after Abraham's initial act of obedience, God had instructions for Abraham. When Abraham obeyed those instructions, he and all his family received many blessings.
2. Exodus 3:10 (NIV): “So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” God asked Moses to go to a place of great suffering and a place of personal shame. Moses had done an ugly thing many years before in Egypt and had run away. Now God was asking him to return there. He didn't know what he was to do when he got there or how he could make a difference but Moses obeyed what God told him and as a result he was able to lead hundreds of thousands of slaves to freedom. 3. Acts 9:15 (NIV): But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel.” Ananias was a faithful Christian. God was asking Ananias to go see a man who was quite recently looking for Christians in order to kill them. Many Christians were in hiding from this man. Not only was God asking Ananias to go to the house where this murderer was, but to pray for him -- revealing his faith to a man who killed anyone who proclaimed faith in Jesus Christ. Ananias responded to God's call to "Go" even when it involved great personal risk. Because Ananias obeyed God, the famous Paul was given back his sight and became a missionary whose work changed human history. Much of our New Testament was written by Paul. There was no way that Ananias knew that when he went to Paul. Only God knew.
Today, are we willing to answer God's call to "Go" even though we don't have all the details or all the reasons for doing what God has asked of us? Can we trust that God, just like the potter, knows best what to do with the clay. God knows what is best for us and will guide us along right paths.
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