Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” (Mark 1:38)
Just a cursory glance around us and we can see that there is great need in this fallen and broken world. And I think you would agree, there are far more needs than we could ever meet in any meaningful way. Brokenness abounds and if we are not sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit, we can head off in a direction of service motivated by sentiment – and when we do, it is not long before our humanitarian hunger descends into doubt, disillusionment, and utter despair. That is why NEED NEVER DETERMINES THE CALL!
Now a word of caution before we go on. We also must be careful not to turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to the needs around us. We must always be compassionate and Christ-like as we encounter needs as we go through life. But we must not let anything derail us from the “CALL” God has placed in our lives. And that can only happen when we are clear on our call from God.
Of course, Jesus models this perfectly for us in Scripture. Our verse today is the response of our Lord to His disciples who said, “Everyone is looking for you!” (Mark 1:37). And why was everyone looking for Jesus? Because He was healing countless people who had a myriad of diseases, including driving out many demons. He was meeting need after need, but never did He let it derail Him from His call. The sense of purpose Jesus demonstrates here is as profound as it is predictable. Jesus knew who He was and what He was here to do, and He was able to stay the course because of His constant communication with His Father in heaven. Going back to our passage in Mark, we read that Jesus went off to a solitary place to pray. Seasons of prayer kept Jesus on purpose. And it will do the same for us.
So, how is your prayer life right now? How much time are you spending with God on your knees? The more time we are in communion with our Lord, the more certain we become about His call in our lives. Without consistent communion with Christ, we can be led astray by the myriads of voices vying for our attention. Only when we model the prayer life of our Lord will we sense our purpose, hear our call, and respond with these words of the prophet of Isaiah – “Here am I. Send me!” (Isaiah 6:8). Remember, NEED NEVER DETERMINES THE CALL . . . Christ does!
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 