Day 27: A Compass vs an Atlas (Mark 6:7-13)
Devotional: Some people can identity with Buddy the Elf, from the movie "Elf", when he said "I love organizing. Organizing is my favorite thing." Of course there is the other extreme. For instance, Garfield, who said a comic strip, "I'm not messy. I'm organizationally challenged."
Some people love to have a plan. And they love every detail of the plain worked out ahead of time. And that can be a good thing. Where would we be without organized people in the world. But sometimes a person can be so organized that they are inflexible to any changes in the plan. And that can be a probably because life doesn't always turn out like we planned it.
When Jesus called His disciples, He called them to drop everything and to come follow Him. Now, Jesus is not against organization. Jesus had a plan for His time on earth, and He had a plan for His disciples. And He still has a plan for our lives. But when you look at the life of Jesus, you see Him being flexible and sensitive to the movement of God.
He stopped and ministered to children when they would come to Him. He saw Zacchaeus in a tree and stopped to talk with him and to have dinner at his house. He stopped by the well to talk to the Samaritan woman. Jesus took time for people. And Jesus was sensitive to "divine appointments" that came up in His life.
How about us? Could the same be said for us? It's good to be organized, to have a plan. But we also have to be flexible to the lives that God puts in our path in the course of a day. And we have to be willing to trust God and follow His leadership even when it's not all laid out to us in detail. Remember this... God normally gives us a COMPASS not an ATLAS. He points us in a direction and asks us to trust Him for where He's leading.
That's what we have in this passage. Jesus says not to take food or money. He said that God would provide the food and shelter as it was needed. It's similar to the story of Abraham, when God called him out to go to a new land, a new life with God. Hebrews 11:8-9 put it this way, "By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going." (vs. 8-9)
God produced much fruit in Abrahams life as a result. Just as he did with the disciples that we looked at in today's passage. And it will be the same for us when we choose to go where God calls us to go even if we don't have all of the details. So how about it? Will you go where God leads even if you don't know the details of the plan? It begins with a step of faith.
Prayer: Is God calling you to do something that you don't have all the details for? Take time to pray about what a first step of faith would look like for you. Or maybe you have a family member or friend in that position. Take time to pray for them.
Devotional: Some people can identity with Buddy the Elf, from the movie "Elf", when he said "I love organizing. Organizing is my favorite thing." Of course there is the other extreme. For instance, Garfield, who said a comic strip, "I'm not messy. I'm organizationally challenged."
Some people love to have a plan. And they love every detail of the plain worked out ahead of time. And that can be a good thing. Where would we be without organized people in the world. But sometimes a person can be so organized that they are inflexible to any changes in the plan. And that can be a probably because life doesn't always turn out like we planned it.
When Jesus called His disciples, He called them to drop everything and to come follow Him. Now, Jesus is not against organization. Jesus had a plan for His time on earth, and He had a plan for His disciples. And He still has a plan for our lives. But when you look at the life of Jesus, you see Him being flexible and sensitive to the movement of God.
He stopped and ministered to children when they would come to Him. He saw Zacchaeus in a tree and stopped to talk with him and to have dinner at his house. He stopped by the well to talk to the Samaritan woman. Jesus took time for people. And Jesus was sensitive to "divine appointments" that came up in His life.
How about us? Could the same be said for us? It's good to be organized, to have a plan. But we also have to be flexible to the lives that God puts in our path in the course of a day. And we have to be willing to trust God and follow His leadership even when it's not all laid out to us in detail. Remember this... God normally gives us a COMPASS not an ATLAS. He points us in a direction and asks us to trust Him for where He's leading.
That's what we have in this passage. Jesus says not to take food or money. He said that God would provide the food and shelter as it was needed. It's similar to the story of Abraham, when God called him out to go to a new land, a new life with God. Hebrews 11:8-9 put it this way, "By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going." (vs. 8-9)
God produced much fruit in Abrahams life as a result. Just as he did with the disciples that we looked at in today's passage. And it will be the same for us when we choose to go where God calls us to go even if we don't have all of the details. So how about it? Will you go where God leads even if you don't know the details of the plan? It begins with a step of faith.
Prayer: Is God calling you to do something that you don't have all the details for? Take time to pray about what a first step of faith would look like for you. Or maybe you have a family member or friend in that position. Take time to pray for them.
Posted in Come Follow Me