Mark 1:16-20
Did you spend New Year’s Day reflecting on where the Spirit was immediately beckoning you to follow in this new year? Did you wait, listen, and come up with nothing? Are you still unsure about where the Spirit will lead you next? That’s okay.
Jesus is walking along the Sea of Galilee when he calls four fishermen to follow him. Scholars don’t know whether Andrew, Simon, James, and John knew (or knew of) Jesus before this encounter. Maybe they were already so intrigued by him that they knew if he ever called their names, they would jump up and go. I think of their reaction like this: if Julie Andrews called and said, “Aimee, I’d like you to act in a movie alongside me,” I would not hesitate. I would not need to know what the film was about. I would kiss my husband and kids goodbye and be on the next flight. Maybe the disciples felt something like that. Regardless of why they immediately left everything to follow Jesus, they did so not knowing where he would lead them.
I am a firm believer in doing “the next right thing.” I think Jesus is, too. Sometimes (dare I say, oftentimes), God does not reveal the entire picture to us. All we are asked to do is the next right thing. What comes immediately next? Maybe it’s simply finishing the laundry so you can clear that clutter from your mind and focus on the greater task at hand. Maybe it’s calling that friend who has been on your heart all week. Maybe it’s remaining faithful in the current daily grind, just putting one foot in front of the other and not getting ahead of yourself or
God. The call before you now may be as simple as this: just do the next right thing.
Consider
What is the next right thing in your life? Don’t spend too much time thinking about this. Do what appears for today. Nothing more.
Pray
Beckoning God, you call us to follow you. But taking that first step is hard when we don’t know where we’re going. Hold our hand. Remind us that you’re asking us to move, rather than navigate. Help us take our next step into the future with you. Amen.