A Gracious Force

Today, during Wycliffe’s annual World Day of Prayer, one of the speakers briefly touched on Luke 10:2:

And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”(ESV)

The Greek word for send is apostelló. Strong’s Concordance defines apostelló as "to order to go to a place appointed, to dismiss, send away, or drive away." Another definition is "to thrust out." This same word is used in the account of the man of the tombs in Mark 5. Jesus confronted the demons that were possessing the man and in verse 10 is their response:

And he begged Him earnestly not to send them out of the country. (ESV)

Apostelló is a forceful word. The speaker suggested that the beginnings of our callings may have had some force behind them. As quiet laughter traveled around the room, I knew the truth of that statement.

I have assumed my whole life that God calls softly, in quiet, polite tugs on a sleeve, or a bit of a cough to clear the throat. And I do think He does direct us in those ways as He gradually changes our thinking and understanding of important Biblical truths, His own character and will.

But when our call came, oh my! We were thrust in a completely new direction seemingly in the blink of an eye. One minute life looked one way, the next minute it was completely different. And as the dust began to settle, his voice could be heard clearly through the confusion and fear. And it was specific. And it was filled with hope and purpose.

During the past two and a half years of this life-changing journey, those thrustings have continued. The layers of giving-up have seemed endless: things, time, privacy, things, leisure, family, home, things(!), friendships, more things… God has challenged our hearts, minds, patience, understanding, and our energy. At times this has been very difficult. And we know it will continue to be hard. But the blessing, maturity, new and deeper friendships, and the ever deepening relationship with Him will always be worth it!

We have been called… Thrust out… To serve the nations in Jesus’ Name. We have been ordered to go to a place directed. And that calling, and our obedience to it, has thrust us closer to Him.