They were to accompany him, and he would send them out to preach… (Mark 3:14)

“Whoa, wait a minute! Preach? You want me to preach? I was thinking more like doing that feeding the five thousand thing…or chasing crooks out of the temple or—” Do you think any of the twelve new apostles responded to Jesus’ instructions that way? The thought may have crossed their minds. After all, they were the furthest thing from preacher material. None of them had even considered such a thing. They hadn’t made the cut for rabbi school. Most of them barely got out of Torah school. They weren’t exactly Billy Graham-ish. Dock workers. Fishermen. Shady IRS agents. Kids, really. Certainly not preachers.

They may have thought it, but we have no record that any of them uttered a single excuse. And they had some really good ones. Better than ours. How do we respond when we get our instructions? What is our response when we hear: “I want you to set your career goals aside and become a pastor.” Or “I want you to befriend your Muslim coworker and tell her about me.” Or, what about: “You divorced for unbiblical reasons, so in order to be completely faithful to me, I want you to remain single and serve me.” What the apostles learned was that God empowered them to do what He called them to do. He never expected them to change the world as dockworkers, fishermen, and IRS agents. They would change the world when they were fully committed disciples, filled with the Holy Spirit. He does the same for us when we respond to His assignment with, “Yes, Lord.”

Final Thought:  How do you respond when Jesus asks you to do the impossible?

Prayer: Lord, when I call you that, I mean it. You are the Lord. I am your servant. Your disciple. As I walk with you and learn to obey, I will listen for your voice. I trust you to do through me what I can’t do on my own, whatever it is. In Jesus’ name, Amen.