You have declared this day that the Lord is your God and that you will walk in obedience to him, that you will keep his decrees, commands and laws –
that you will listen to him.In the eleventh century,
King Henry III of Bavaria grew tired of court life and the pressures of being a
monarch. He made application to Prior Richard at a local monastery, asking to
be accepted as a contemplative and spend the rest of his life in the monastery.
“Your Majesty,” said
Prior Richard, “do you understand that the pledge here is one of obedience?
That will be hard because you have been a king.”
“I understand,” said
Henry. “The rest of my life I will be obedient to you, as Christ leads you.”
“Then I will tell you
what to do,” said Prior Richard. “Go back to your throne and serve faithfully
in the place where God has put you.”
When King Henry died, a
statement was written: “The King learned to rule by being obedient.”
When we tire of our
roles and responsibilities, it helps to remember God has planted us in a
certain place and told us to be a good accountant or teacher or mother or
father. Christ expects us to be faithful where he puts us, and when he returns,
we’ll rule together with him.
(Steve Brown, Key
Biscayne, Florida)
Where have
you been called to serve? Are you in the place you have been called to or do
you feel like a square peg in a round hole? We all make choices when we leave
school, further education, apprenticeship or straight into any job, as long as
we are earning that’s what matters.
However,
that’s not all God wants. He wants us, as Christians, to be open to His call
and obedient to His word. Jesus told us in
Hebrews 10:5-7
‘Sacrifice
and offering you did not desire, but a
body you prepared for me.
With burnt
offerings and sin offerings you were not
pleased. Then I
said, “Here I am – it is written about me in the scroll I have come to do your will, my God.”
When we feel a call from God we should be eager to obey but I
know that we are sometimes doubtful that it is His voice we hear. Don’t worry
God has a way of getting through to us. In my case it was when I spoke to
someone I trusted. Sometimes we just need to ask God to make His will clearer
to us.
The wonderful thing about God is that He doesn’t use force to
make us do His will. We can choose to ignore Him but I think that would be very
uncomfortable If we truly love God we will want to please Him and to serve Him
in whatever capacity He has chosen for us.
We should be like so many biblical characters and just answer
‘Here I am’ when we hear God’s voice calling us.
Prayer
Almighty God, here we are, willing to serve You wherever You
send us. We will need Your help and the help of Your son Jesus and Your Holy
Spirit. We do not have the learning or strength we may need and we ask You to
give us the words and courage to carry out Your directions. Help us to live a
life of service to others in order to serve You fully. Amen
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