You shall have no other gods before me.

(Exodus 20:3)

Answering the Call (Part I)

What has God been asking you to do personally or professionally that you have been ignoring,
putting off, and pretending as though you cannot hear? Are you supposed to apply for a new job? Are you
supposed to recommit wholeheartedly and return to the first love you once experienced with God, a spouse,
your job, or community service? Are you to go back to school for a higher degree or simply start learning
something new in a specific area? Are you supposed to start spending more or less time at home, school, or in community service? Are
you supposed to start implementing new methodologies, strategies or programs the Lord has given you for home, school, or
community? Are you to reconcile and mend a relationship with a student, parent, staff member, family member or community member?
Are you supposed to begin doing something different in a specific relationship with someone? Are you to rest more?
When God is quietly whispering to you in His still small voice, have you been ignoring Him and by your actions, though not
necessarily in words, telling Him, “Not right now, I have other things to do that are more important than you. I have all these people and
myself I must answer to and please before you.” Are you putting God, your Maker, your true Father, your first Love, and true Groom off
in some way? Praise God for His grace and that He is slow to anger, that He is a very patient lover of our souls.
Rhonda, a high school chemistry teacher, knew that God was whispering to her, telling her that He wanted more time alone
with her in both her professional, church, and personal lives. She knew He wanted her to have a much deeper relationship with Him
than the Sunday morning and Wednesday night church services but she was perplexed by this new callling. He wanted intimate time
alone with her so He could speak personally to her and give her messages and directions that were just for her, not her co-workers,
other family members, or church members.
Rhonda had grown up in a family and was attending a church where time alone with God and how to spend this time alone
with God was never mentioned. These topics ranked right up there with human sexuality. It seemed as though both were taboo to
speak of from the pulpit or mention in Bible study. (Jesus and many others in the Bible spent time alone with God outside of a church.
Many dealt with sexuality issues.) Rhonda was too shy and embarrassed to ask her pastor or Christian friends a simple question,
“How do I spend time alone with God?” She was too falsely humble to tell them, “God has been whispering and speaking to me. Will
you help me understand this call and encourage me to obey Him?” (In the Bible, God not only personally spoke to pastors and priests;
He most often spoke to carpenters, shepherds, housewives, inmates, farmers, soldiers, politicians, teachers, and many others.)
One Friday evening, the second week after Christmas break and after an especially stressful school week, Rhonda got home
exhausted. She couldn’t believe just two weeks ago she had come off the longest vacation of the school year. She glanced at the
calendar on the fridge and saw that her eleven year old son had a basketball game the next morning at ten o’clock and her eight year
old daughter had a dance recital at three o’clock as well. She thought about the fact that church was going to be from 8:30AM to
12:30PM on Sunday and was dreading it. She was in the choir which was now rehearsing prior to the service plus she had Sunday
morning Bible study. She had yet to plan any family meals for either Saturday or Sunday and the laundry was piling up. She knew her
husband wouldn’t be home from work, as usual, until around 7:00PM and he was never available to help with the kids and dinner. Her
mother, who lived alone across town, was sick and needed her assistance in picking up a medication at the drugstore.
Rhonda took the children out to eat fast food, stopped to get and deliver medication to her mother, and was in bed with a
severe headache by 9:00PM. She barely said hello to her husband when she got home as he sat in the den just as exhausted watching
TV. Her romantic life and quality time alone with her husband paralleled her lack of time alone and intimacy with God. Rhonda felt like
she was a shadow living a passionless life. She felt like she was just passing through life, but no longer deeply drinking of,
experiencing, or enjoying it. She was on auto-pilot and was neither hot nor cold about anything. She felt like a quarter filled cup of
coffee, a breakfast left over, that had been abandoned and left on the kitchen counter all day. She felt like at times like her whole life
needed to be poured out and that someone needed to pour her a new one. On top of this, she felt guilty for feeling this way.
That night, Rhonda gave God seven seconds of her time and spoke aloud and honestly from her heart to Him for the first time
in her life, “God, please help me, I am supposedly living the American dream but feel like I am living in hell.” (To be continued.)
Prayer: Lord, reignite our passion for you, our families, our jobs, and community members through obedience to your still small voice.
Reflections: Am I hearing and obeying God? Why or why not? Am I passionately and deeply enjoying my relationships with God,
spouse, family, friends, co-workers, and others? Why or why not? What is God speaking to me right now? What is my response?
CLASSROOM LIGHTHOUSE SERIES: The Great Race (For info or prayer contact ceaihouston@sbcglobal.net.) WEEK 16