READING: Judges 11-12, Luke 6:1-26
“And when day came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as apostles.”
Luke 6:13
Jesus prayed all night long before He called His twelve apostles. I know prayer is critical, but I wonder why all night long?
Here’s what I think: He spent the night deeply seeking the Father’s direction about the men on whose shoulders He would place the work of the kingdom. They would be essential to the task, and He modeled for us the necessity of praying about folks into whose lives we will pour ourselves. Think about it – when we seek the Father’s will as we search for disciples/mentors, we open ourselves to His will. And, His will might surprise us. He might direct us to followers who don’t always listen to us, who sometimes fight among themselves, who think they’re much greater than they are, and who flee when the pressure’s on.
In fact, God might direct us to invest in somebody who denies even being with us as a mentor/mentee relationship.
Or, He might even require us to pour our lives into someone who will stab us in the back. He might call us to walk into a betrayal.
You see, if we seek disciples without praying, we may well miss what God wants to accomplish in and through us. In some cases, we’ll miss the people who stretch us, challenge us, exasperate us – and who are somehow God’s tool to change us. At the same time, we’re also likely to choose somebody who’s most like us to invest in, somebody we assume will be a fun, easy-to-work-with disciple. We’re less likely to pick people we suspect will frustrate us, for who has time to pour into people who don’t show much promise? But, that kind of thinking might cause us to miss the opportunity to invest in somebody through whom God plans to work unexpectedly. He often uses the weak, the unexpected, and the untrained to do His work. When He does so, He alone gets the glory because His Spirit empowers folks no one else believes in.
Don’t miss the opportunity to invest in somebody who surprises you. Pray first, and then go disciple.
ACTION STEPS:
- Rejoice that God uses the weak. That group includes you and me.
- Look around in your life. Pray, and see if God wants you to invest in an unexpected somebody.
PRAYER: “Father, I want to be ready to disciple whomever You wish. Direct me to that person.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Judges 13-15, Luke 6:27-49
