When God called me in to missions, I knew that I knew that he had called me. He spoke to me very clearly about the timing and the location that he wanted me to go to. At the time, I was single, so there were only my own plans to think about – or so I thought.
Right about the time I was getting organized to go, my Dad suddenly needed help. Due to being affected by a long-term illness, he urgently needed someone to assist him with day-to-day living. He was no longer able to stay in his accommodation at the time, as the assistance he required was no longer available there.
I asked God to show me what to do. He led me to read Matthew 19:27-29. Jesus had been talking to the rich young ruler, who had asked him what he needed to do to inherit eternal life. Jesus responded with what he required from the rich young ruler to truly follow him – heart and soul, and laid out to him what it was going to cost – it would cost him everything. The young man valued what he had more than the value of following Jesus, so he walked away. The story continues:
27 Then Peter said to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?” 28 And Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name’s sake, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life.
The disciples had also given up everything to follow Jesus. Each one had a different story, a different set of challenges, possessions and responsibilities to leave behind. However, when Jesus called them to follow him, they trusted him and willingly left everything in their life behind.
When first looking at this scripture, it might seem a bit harsh or not make sense. God is for family isn’t he? This does not mean that every person will be required to leave behind all immediate family members. Family is one of the highest values in most cultures. I believe Jesus is saying that we need to value and trust him, his call and his direction, more than the value we place on anything else. I believe Jesus is saying that we need to follow him and value his direction over our or anyone else’s opinion or expectation as to how our life should look.
I also felt God say something else to me. He opened my eyes to the fact that he has a plan for each and every person’s life on this planet. When he asks someone to follow him, he has not forgotten about the people that will be left behind when that person follows their call. He showed me that as he had called me to go to another location, then that would mean that he was not expecting me to take responsibility for what needed to happen in my Dad’s life at the time.
This gave me confidence to trust God as to what he would do next for my Dad. Before I left for my new location, Dad and I spent some time trying to find the right place for him to live so he could get the assistance he needed. Dad eventually decided that he was not ready to live in an assisted care facility, so he made a brave move instead. He proposed to and married an amazing woman, who along with her family, lovingly cared for him over the following 10 years.
Not only did God have a plan for Dad when I followed God’s call on my life, but that plan was infinitely better than any plan I would have come up with if I had to make the choice with or for him, based on my own understanding.
As I am writing this, I feel that there are some of you who have been holding back from following God’s call on your life, as you are concerned about what will happen to those left behind. If you know that you know that God has called you, trust him to take care of every person and every thing that will no longer be in your care when you go.
God has a better plan than you or I can create on our own. That’s because he knows all things. He knows our future in every minute detail. He knows what is best for each one of us.
I would love to hear your feedback in the comments. If this is for you, let me know how I can pray for you as you take the next step of faith into God’s call on your life.