Matthew 4:19
"Come, follow me, " Jesus said, "and I will send you out to fish for people."
When was the last time you dropped everything to answer a need or opportunity? Maybe, it was when you received the heart-caught-in-the-throat call from school to say your child was injured on the playground or the gut-wrenching news that your parent was rushed to the hospital. On a brighter note, perhaps it was getting last minute tickets from your boss to a baseball game or a spontaneous invitation from your spouse to dine at your favorite restaurant. In all these cases, bad or good, undoubtedly, you canceled any previous plans you may have had for the day or evening, and hastened with all speed to meet the need or greet the opportunity.
What was is about Jesus' invitation to Simon Peter, Andrew, John, and James to follow Him that made them instantly drop their nets and abandon the only life they knew in order to obey? Did they hear authority and assurance in His voice? Were they compelled by the kind, yet intense gaze with which He fixed theirs? Was there an irresistible warmth in His smile exuding a promise of peace for which they longed? Did they feel, in their heart of hearts, that this Jesus was the One, the Messiah, whom they had hoped, for so long, would come? We can never, here on earth, know the answer to the questions and, in reality, they do not matter. What mattered then and what matters to us now is they dropped everything when Jesus called and didn't look back.
Will you take this moment to drop everything and pray, asking Jesus to be with you in all you think, do, or say today? Let Him know you are ready and willing to follow Him, always and everywhere and right away!
Readings
Psalms 72 or 119:73-96
1 Kings 22:1-28
1 Corinthians 2:1-13
Matthew 4:18-25
I really like the way you expressed yourself in this one. You make such a good point. We are often all too willing to drop everything for any reason at all but when it comes to prayer, it is all too easy to make up excuses or simply to put it off. Thank you for the encouragement!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your encouraging words, Colleen! I'm grateful that you found this post to be a reminder of what should come first in our lives.
ReplyDeleteGod bless!
I dropped everything when the phone call from the highway patrol came, saying my in-laws had been in a tragic car accident…
ReplyDeleteWhen the phone call came from the casting director of a film, asking if I could come in and work as Michelle Pfieffer’s stand in…
When the Lord woke me up one morning more than a decade ago and told me to go serve communion by my dying brother’s bedside, after which he lived over five more years…
And this week when he told me to visit a friend in the hospital and serve communion at her bedside…
Thank you for prompting these memories Martha. Bless you!
And, what amazing memories they are, Debra! I'm so glad today's devotion touched you in this way.
ReplyDeleteBlessings!