Arise and Go!

"Arise...go..." Jonah 1:2

It seems I cannot get past these first two words in my Bible study.  Every morning when I think I will cover lots of Scriptural ground my wheels continue to spin on these powerful words.  I remember one time Bruce and I had rented a place at Folly Beach.  It was mid-morning and I was sitting on the screened porch watching a few dolphins play in the water.  Suddenly my phone rang and on the other end of the line was my dad.  Previously, his cancer had metastasized into his liver and his body was declining.  He was spending a great deal of time in the bed trying to manage his pain with medicine and giving his body the care that it needed.  He had one request…PRAYER…but not for what you would think.  His coveted prayer was for the discernment, strength and endurance to go where God was calling him to go and to do what God was calling him to do.  His calling was to return to Child Evangelism Fellowship where he had volunteered as Director for almost 10 years bringing unchurched children to Christ.  His body was declining, but his spirit was soaring.  Daddy fully understood that his greatest weakness would allow God to display His greatest strength.  He asked all of us for prayers, and he ‘arose and went’ to serve where God was calling him at the toughest point of his life.  Daddy was able to serve for 8 months, long enough to lead the ministry at a much-needed point in time. 

As I think about that time, my mind jumps to 2019 as my prayers involve people who are having to ‘arise and go’ into tough places.  One family is being asked to ‘arise and go’ into the diagnosis of something fearful.  Another friend is being asked to ‘arise and go’ into the looming death of her mother.   I have another friend who is being asked to ‘arise and go’ to the chemo room at the hospital.  Every one of these families have one thing in common that will get them through these tough seasons…the presence and power of God in their lives.  They are all Christians and have all called upon the strength of God to invade their ‘arise and go’ circumstances.  This morning I read a statement from Priscilla Shirer in her study, Jonah – Navigating a Life Interrupted.  ‘When God places an abnormal calling on your life, it is because He has abnormal results, He wants to produce through you.’ P. 33.

Whatever you are facing this morning that is requiring you to ‘arise and go’, please know that God is already there waiting on you.  He holds in His hands the very thing you will need to equip you for the journey.  God can be trusted and is faithful to His children.