Let’s be very clear: God has something for each one of us to do now – at this very moment. There are so many varying situations in which each one finds him/herself at specific and widely diverse occasions that only God can precisely select who is to do what, when, where and how. There are widely disparate ages and a hodgepodge of temperaments among the servants of God; only an all-knowing Creator can separate our varying tasks at any one time one from another.
When God called Jonah to warn the Ninevites of their impending destruction, the Lord made it very obvious what He wanted Jonah to do. “Arise,” He told Jonah, “go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.” Jonah had a clear mandate from God, but Jonah had the audacity to rebel against the divine mandate; he intended to do his own thing. He would refuse by default: he would no longer be where God could find him. What a dangerous, foolish decision!
“[So] Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and… went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.” (Jon 1:3)
Here we have a prophet of God presuming to buck against a clear directive from his God. It is difficult to imagine why Jonah would make such a brazen move. God was all the old line prophets had: they walked where God told them to walk; they ate what and when He told them to eat; and when they resisted God, the result was not very pleasant as Jonah soon discovered. (Jonah 1.3-17)
Sometimes I think the earnest sincere saint of today has more knowledge of God than the prophets of old; but of course that is not true. When I read their stirring calls to action and their pleas made in God’s behalf for Israel or Judah to return to their God, I change my first rash opinion. No doubt the prophets of old did not have as much “technical” knowledge of God as some of us; we have innumerable scriptures and the lives of mighty men of God for us to learn from, but the prophets were generally much more dedicated men and women and much more committed to their God than we effete Christians of today who cannot stand to be talked about much less to be physically persecuted. They followed their God faithfully and did some weird things simply because God told them to do so. And how could they fail God when He was so very close to them? Even Jonah repented of his disobedience after God disciplined him with three days in the fish’s belly.
The prophets were faithful and obedient to God in the face of severe persecutions by their countrymen and the bizarre demands made on them by their God. Would we today be as single-minded? Would we, could we “set our faces like flint...knowing we shall not be ashamed”? (Isa. 50.7) I have to confess there are a few things I would be reluctant to do, namely, marrying a street woman as Hosea did (Hosea 1.2 – note that some commentators say this is allegorical and not a literal fact) in order to typify God’s surpassing love to Israel. Another command I would surely stumble at was when God, to drive home a point to His wayward people, took Ezekiel’s wife from him in death and strictly charged Ezekiel not to display any signs of mourning for her. (Eze. 24.16-24). This is what God commanded Ezekiel to do (or no to do):
“Forbear to cry, make no mourning for the dead [do not display your grief outwardly], bind the tire of thine head [the priestly turban] upon thee [Isaiah was a priest and ‘Uncovering the head was an ordinary sign of mourning in priests; whereas others covered their heads in mourning (2Sa_15:30)’ (Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown n.d.], and put on thy shoes upon thy feet [in Ezekiel’s day being barefoot was a sign of mourning], and cover not thy lips [‘Mourners covered the under part of the face, from the nose to the bottom of the chin’ [Adam Clarke 1715-1832], and eat not the bread of men [‘the bread of miserable men,’ i.e., mourners; probably, the funeral banquet.’ (Eze 24:17)
But I (and you), we all have made our boast in the Lord; shall we now refuse to do even the most repugnant of tasks that He lays upon us? I shudder when I think of the very painful demands God could make of me, but if I (or you) at this moment are doing what He wants us to do to the best of our ability, aided by the grace of God, I am confident God will always give us the ability to carry out all of His sweet will; even if it should literally kill us. This is certainly not a proud boast – of myself I am nobody going no place and in an unseemly haste to get there – this is merely (no more and no less than) a supreme confidence in Almighty God.
Once again let’s be very clear: This post is not a mere exercise in speech writing nor is it to get my name on the Internet. I am deadly serious about what we are doing with our call from God to a specific task. God is winding down His centuries long entreating to mankind to do what God wants and the thread on the spindle of time is showing bare spaces as it is rapidly spinning near the end. What are we doing on God’s behalf (not to say our own behalf) to fulfill all of God’s will for us as individual worker in His great economy?
Please look on God’s immense army of workers not only as what they are (a vast network of workers). They are also individuals on whom is placed the burden of success for the entire workforce. If you are out of sync, so are others who are taking their cue from you. I am asking of you what I am asking of myself who regrettably has been out of step on more than one occasion:
1. If you have no clue as to where you belong in God’s army, don’t wait; go to Him in earnest entreaty. If you are sincere, God will show you where He wants you to be.
2. If you are where you belong but are temporarily out of step, you know the drill – get in step immediately, praying all the while for God’s help. You can do nothing right without His grace upon you.
This concept of God’s people being an army marching without misstep toward a goal is a symbol and we are all the reality. “Marching in step” means being doing or moving in strict accordance with God’s will for you. The success of the army depends on the individual. It depends on you… and you… and me. The army of God is made up of the individual soldiers and the individual soldiers all comprise the army of God. We are a unit; so let’s move; we’ve a great task to accomplish and an extremely short time in which to complete it!
Comments