Follow Me

Written while in Guatemala on January 22, 2018.

Matthew 9:9, [Jesus] saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and He said to him, “Follow Me.” And he rose and followed Him.

That the Lord would have me read this verse on this day is proof of His providence. For as I am now in Guatemala for the week, our message to the Guatemalan people is from Mark 1:14-20—the Lord’s call to three of His disciples, “Follow Me and I will make you become fishers of men” (v. 17). In my text for today, the common motif for this week is, “Follow Me.” I came to Guatemala to serve the less fortunate, but in the process the Lord is teaching me to follow Him. Following requires trust, and periodically I fail to trust Christ in my pastoral calling and begin to trust more in my abilities. The Lord has called me to follow Him in this calling. I often wonder: Why me? Why an introvert who suffers with social anxiety? But He has called me to follow Him; He chose me. It is His plan, not mine.

So it is with all His believers. Wherever God has called you to serve, trust Him; He knows what He’s doing. Even more, He has called us to follow Him to salvation. Our salvation rests in Him alone, not us. All we need to do is follow His gracious invitation and trust Him.