Genesis 12:1-3 God told Abram: “Leave your country, your family, and your father’s home for a land that I will show you. I’ll make you a great nation and bless you. I’ll make you famous; you’ll be a blessing. I’ll bless those who bless you; those who curse you, I’ll curse. All the families of the Earth will be blessed through you.”

God calls His children. God calls all His children. He calls some to sell all their possessions and teach Sunday school to a bunch of snotty kids in Africa under a big tree. (I take off my hat and a few other things for them!)

God’s call to Abram was direct and strikingly simple. You must leave. You must leave all that is familiar to you and journey to a land that I will show you, a destination Abram did not yet know.

I wonder if I would have done that? I wonder if I would have pulled up my roots here, where everything is familiar and that I like, and entered the unknown, just because God asked me to. It’s traumatic.

The other day, I had to take three yuga plants out of pots, and we had to cut off a lot of the roots, otherwise they could not get out. They are now in another place in the garden, but they really don’t look well, and I wonder if they will make it.

It was Bonhoeffer who said, ”If God calls you, He calls you to come and die …”

But God calls most of us to live His calling right where we work, live and play. Thank goodness, because I might have been very disappointed, like the yuga plants, or not even have made it to a rural village …

Ironically, it is often among our own people where living out our calling proves most difficult. Nevertheless, fulfilling this commitment remains our essential responsibility. The truth is, wherever you find yourself today is precisely the place to which God has called you.

I want to challenge you, rather than just encourage you: commit today to intentionally seek the specific place where you are meant to live God’s calling.

Prayer
Father, I know You have called me. I know I am called to live Your calling and make a real difference wherever I go today. Help me to be faithful and to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit …

Questions
What would you leave behind to follow God?
What is God’s directive for you today: forward movement, or deeper connection?
Where can you start today to live your calling practically?

Now do this
Think about your calling today. Ask God where exactly He wants to use you, where you are living and working now.
Do something practical to live His calling. Encourage someone, help someone, or share something of His love right where you are.
Pray with open hands. Say: “Lord, show me where You want to use me today,” and be prepared to move when He calls.