Obedience Through Service

“God called to him, ‘Moses, Moses’ and he said, ‘Here I am’” (Exodus 3:4).

I am constantly amazed at the number of times I engage in conversations with friends who are seeking to determine whether God is calling them to do something, to step out in faith in one manner or another. At times, those I am speaking with are on the edge of taking a huge step. At other times, they are simply working a process to see what God is doing. In either case, they are at various stages of determining God’s will for their lives.

One of the things I’ve learned is that, when we are about to act upon something God may be calling us to do, our attitude should be similar to Moses’ attitude, “Here I am.” That’s simply to say that a ready person never needs to get ready. He or she is ready at all times to do even the smallest thing God asks.

At the risk of offending you, let me share that I frequently become frustrated when people spend undue time speaking of how they want to serve God and be faithful in all things, while at the same time stand still doing nothing. Moses did not stand still. He did not need to get ready. He had the right relationship with God. As a result, he was ready.

The reason why we seem unready is that when God speaks, many of us are like men caught in a thick fog. We give no answer because we are standing still. That is to say that the best way to know how to heed God’s call is to be moving forward in serving in some way or another. The form of the service is irrelevant. The process of obedience displayed through serving is what’s important.

Let me encourage you with these thoughts. We have no choice in what we want to do should God call us in a particular direction. The only choice we have is to be obedient. God can and does put us where he wants us. He can put us in pleasant places or otherwise. That’s up to him. Yet far too often, our desire to serve is shallow because we are in a fog. We are inactive, thus never in the proper place to hear God’s voice. Serving helps lift the fog.

Let me be very direct with you on this point. Some of you are feeling God “loosening the roots” on what has become familiar and comfortable to you. It’s an uncomfortable feeling; I know. My advice is simple. Keep serving or start serving. As you serve the Lord, he will make his voice clear. He will provide the clarity and direction you desire. His voice will become stronger, and your vision will become clearer and clearer. It’s hard to steer a vehicle that’s not moving. The same thing applies to our lives. Get serving and let God do the steering.