I am relatively certain that at some point in your life you have been told to do something. Maybe your mom or dad told you that you needed to make your bed. Perhaps you were required to take out the trash every day. Or maybe you were ordered by your supervisor to take care of a specific task. If you are older than, say two or three years old, you probably fall into this category. So we know that we receive orders but the real question is how do we carry out those orders? In other words, do we obey the orders in which we have received?
Now let’s throw a wrench into the mix for a second. What do we do when we receive an order from God? Do we obey? Do we ignore it? Does our response depend on what the command is? We tend to either not, or at least think twice about, doing what we may believe will make us uncomfortable. There are many reasons for this behavior. Perhaps it’s because we’re scared of the outcome. Maybe we are afraid of the task itself. It’s different for everyone. You already know my story of waiting seven years before obeying God’s call to ministry so I won’t go into that. But, I do have a story that falls within the realm of this example.
I have a great friend who has had a tugging on her heart for a long time about being a kidney donor. She doesn’t know anyone personally that needs a new kidney, but she felt God calling her to do this – to donate her kidney to someone who will die if they don’t get a new one. This is a pretty significant calling, isn’t it? I think so. God wants to use my friend to impact a complete stranger’s life. She didn’t really struggle when it came to obeying God’s call which surprises me and at the same time makes me so proud of her. If someone in my family required a kidney from me, I wouldn’t hesitate. But donating my kidney to a perfect stranger for the sake of God’s call? I’ll be honest; I don’t know how I’d respond to something like that. I would certainly have to pray – a lot!
Maybe God’s call on my friend’s life will lead to bigger things. Maybe it’s her calling to ministry (at the end of this note, I’ll fill you in on the details – without too many details). Take a look at the story of Abraham in Genesis 12:1-9. Abraham could have said “thanks but no thanks, God. I really don’t feel like picking up and moving where you tell me to. I’m comfortable with where I’m at.”
How many times have you answered a question from God like that? I have answered some of God’s questions like that on more occasions than I’d like to admit. But my friend was like Abraham. She didn’t hesitate to obey His command. Sure, she probably had some reservations about what she was signing on for but she had the faith – and obedience – to take action and go through with what God was calling her to do.
Giving up a kidney isn’t an easy thing to wrap your head around. There are months of testing, interviews, testing, testing, waiting, testing, waiting, waiting, testing, approval, interviews, phone calls, testing, waiting, waiting…the call. The call is the one that you’ve been waiting for after all the testing, waiting, and interviews you’ve gone through. It’s the phone call that tells you that you are about to fulfill God’s calling on your life. You have been matched with a transplant recipient. This is the phone call my friend received on Thursday, April 16, 2009 – a day that would change her life forever!
My friend was matched with someone she doesn’t know. She is effectively going to save someone’s life – someone she doesn’t know. She heeded God’s call. The one thing that I always tell people is that they not only need to pray, but they also need to listen to what God tells them during the conversation. As I hope you know, prayer isn’t one-way communication with God. He will speak back to you and when He does, you’ll know. My friend listened to what God was telling her. As a result, she is going to give up a kidney for someone. The cool thing is that she’s already heard God speak to her in other ways. She is going to start a Christian support group for people that were in her position of wanting to help others by way of being a voluntary kidney donor. Don’t ever underestimate your power to further His kingdom! You are an integral part of His ministry and we need you! You don’t have to give up an organ to fulfill God’s calling on your life. It just happened that this was my friend’s calling. Your calling may be to be a “Big Brother” or “Big Sister” with underprivileged kids. Maybe it’s to be a hospice volunteer. Ask God what His calling is on your life – He will tell you. Obey what God is telling you to do. Just as Abraham was blessed for obeying God, you too will be blessed for your obedience.
As I close, I want to leave you with two final thoughts for you to ponder:
God bless,
Jeremy
Now let’s throw a wrench into the mix for a second. What do we do when we receive an order from God? Do we obey? Do we ignore it? Does our response depend on what the command is? We tend to either not, or at least think twice about, doing what we may believe will make us uncomfortable. There are many reasons for this behavior. Perhaps it’s because we’re scared of the outcome. Maybe we are afraid of the task itself. It’s different for everyone. You already know my story of waiting seven years before obeying God’s call to ministry so I won’t go into that. But, I do have a story that falls within the realm of this example.
I have a great friend who has had a tugging on her heart for a long time about being a kidney donor. She doesn’t know anyone personally that needs a new kidney, but she felt God calling her to do this – to donate her kidney to someone who will die if they don’t get a new one. This is a pretty significant calling, isn’t it? I think so. God wants to use my friend to impact a complete stranger’s life. She didn’t really struggle when it came to obeying God’s call which surprises me and at the same time makes me so proud of her. If someone in my family required a kidney from me, I wouldn’t hesitate. But donating my kidney to a perfect stranger for the sake of God’s call? I’ll be honest; I don’t know how I’d respond to something like that. I would certainly have to pray – a lot!
Maybe God’s call on my friend’s life will lead to bigger things. Maybe it’s her calling to ministry (at the end of this note, I’ll fill you in on the details – without too many details). Take a look at the story of Abraham in Genesis 12:1-9. Abraham could have said “thanks but no thanks, God. I really don’t feel like picking up and moving where you tell me to. I’m comfortable with where I’m at.”
How many times have you answered a question from God like that? I have answered some of God’s questions like that on more occasions than I’d like to admit. But my friend was like Abraham. She didn’t hesitate to obey His command. Sure, she probably had some reservations about what she was signing on for but she had the faith – and obedience – to take action and go through with what God was calling her to do.
Giving up a kidney isn’t an easy thing to wrap your head around. There are months of testing, interviews, testing, testing, waiting, testing, waiting, waiting, testing, approval, interviews, phone calls, testing, waiting, waiting…the call. The call is the one that you’ve been waiting for after all the testing, waiting, and interviews you’ve gone through. It’s the phone call that tells you that you are about to fulfill God’s calling on your life. You have been matched with a transplant recipient. This is the phone call my friend received on Thursday, April 16, 2009 – a day that would change her life forever!
My friend was matched with someone she doesn’t know. She is effectively going to save someone’s life – someone she doesn’t know. She heeded God’s call. The one thing that I always tell people is that they not only need to pray, but they also need to listen to what God tells them during the conversation. As I hope you know, prayer isn’t one-way communication with God. He will speak back to you and when He does, you’ll know. My friend listened to what God was telling her. As a result, she is going to give up a kidney for someone. The cool thing is that she’s already heard God speak to her in other ways. She is going to start a Christian support group for people that were in her position of wanting to help others by way of being a voluntary kidney donor. Don’t ever underestimate your power to further His kingdom! You are an integral part of His ministry and we need you! You don’t have to give up an organ to fulfill God’s calling on your life. It just happened that this was my friend’s calling. Your calling may be to be a “Big Brother” or “Big Sister” with underprivileged kids. Maybe it’s to be a hospice volunteer. Ask God what His calling is on your life – He will tell you. Obey what God is telling you to do. Just as Abraham was blessed for obeying God, you too will be blessed for your obedience.
As I close, I want to leave you with two final thoughts for you to ponder:
1) In what ways does your life show that you are living for God’s purposes and seeking His approval rather than the world’s? In other words, in what ways in your life are you obeying God’s calling instead of ignoring it?
2) In your wildest dreams, what would you most like to accomplish for God?
Live your life for God!God bless,
Jeremy