How quickly do we answer when Jesus says, ‘Come follow Me?’

His way is the best way, His plan is the best plan, His burden is the lightest burden, one which we can carry and one which will bring us into true fellowship with Him.

I was recently listening to a daily devotional and was challenged about the speed at which I answer the call of God on my life at any one time. God calls each of us to follow Him along the road He has put us on, and to fulfil the calling on our lives as individuals and as part of His church.

This may look different to each person, but it will inevitably intertwine with others along the way as God builds His church. The question is though, if we don’t answer the call of God when He wants us to do something, do we miss out on a blessing that God may give to someone else who is willing to answer His call immediately?

A good scriptural example of this is found in Matthew 4:18-22 (ESV)  While walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And He said to them, ''Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.'' Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. And going on from there He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and He called them, Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed Him.

source: cynthiagitongablog.com

These first disciples had no idea what came next, they simply responded to the call of Jesus and followed Him by faith. This brings up another question; are we a people who will respond by faith or do we need some information from God about what He wants us for before we make a move?

There’s a footnote in my bible that says this, ‘True faith has a number of components: acceptance, embracing something (someone) as truth, union with God and His Word and an inner confidence that God alone is enough’. So, stop and ask yourself ‘do you operate in true faith?’ And if not, why not? What stops us from being able to respond to the call of God the minute He calls us, without having to know what comes next. It’s when we no longer need to know what comes next that we will be able to say with confidence, God alone is enough for me.’

We could ask the question, ‘how do we know if God is speaking to us about something?’ Well, this has to do with relationship. Relationships are important, and the more we build a relationship with someone the more we get to know them. And the more we get to know them the more we know what pleases them, and if our relationship is built on love then we will look for opportunities to please that person. 

If there’s one thing we can be sure of, it’s that our relationship with Jesus is definitely built on Love with Him as our foundation and corner stone.  

The other thing is, the more time we spend with someone the easier it is to recognise their voice in a crowd even if we can’t see them, and that’s exactly how it is with God. The more time we spend with Him the easier it becomes to recognise His voice, so when Jesus says to us ‘Follow Me’ we should immediately drop what we’re doing and follow Him.

So how can we start to hear God’s voice if we don’t already? Well it starts by bringing Him a yielded heart and then letting Him do the rest. If we’re not willing to bring God our yielded hearts, there’s very little He can do to take us to where He wants us to be, because we will always get in the way of Him being able to get us there. 

source: SlideServe

You see we don’t start by doing, we start by yielding. Unless we’re willing to let Him be everything we need and guide our path without our interference, we will always struggle to know what it is God wants of us. He won’t override our will and He won’t make us do something we’re not willing to do, He will just step back and wait for us to respond to Him. And the longer that takes the fewer blessings we will have, and the harder it will be for us to achieve anything meaningful for Him.

His way is the best way, His plan is the best plan, His burden is the lightest burden, one which we can carry and one which will bring us into true fellowship with Him.

So back to the title of this blog: ‘How quickly do we answer when Jesus says, ‘Come follow Me?’ Let's be like the first disciples who had no idea what came next, they simply responded to the call of Jesus and followed Him by faith?

Remember what it says in Romans 8:28-30 (ESV) ' And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew He also  predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom He predestined He also called, and those whom He called He also justified, and those whom He justified He also glorified.'

Out of the billions of people who have ever walked this earth and who currently walk this earth, you are one of those God has chosen, predestined and called according to His purpose to be His voice for such a time as this, but like Jesus you can only be successful if you do it His way.

True worship comes with true obedience. So let our prayer be: 'Father, not my will but Yours be done.' Amen.

May God bless you with ears to hear, eyes to see and hearts to respond.

Author: Kevin Hunt

May God bless and enrich your life

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