21D Fishers – Day 9: Wild Goose
Guest Devotional Speaker – Melissa Wickens
We want purpose to be like your job description at work. All laid out simply. Return emails, answer calls, file papers, attend meetings, clock out for lunch but God says HEY! See that last line in the job description? “Other duties as assigned” And in a job, those might be incidental things that aren’t major or aren’t often, but God lives in the “other duties as assigned” in our lives. Everyday, every assignment from God plays on your abilities He has given you. They build upon the experiences and skills to be the person your past has made you to be.
In the ancient Celtic language, their term for Holy Spirit translated to the term Wild Goose. Which, first of all, is hilarious to think about, but as an American, also kind of stressful. If I say I’m on a wild goose chase, it feels like I’m on a stressful, sometimes not worth it journey to find a means to the end. But that’s not how the ancient Celts saw it. In the book Wild Goose Chase by Mark Batterson, the author says that the wild goose chase after the holy spirit is freeing, it’s exciting, and it’s good. He is our greatest adventure.
Often times we want it to look like that job description. 10am meeting, noon lunch, 2pm catch up on emails. It means not having the details hammered out. It means saying yes and letting God work to fill in the gaps. Following the call God has on your life means following the lead of the Holy Spirit.
Honestly, that sounds scary. And I’m not saying that it’s not scary, but it should be moreso exciting and empowering. We need a foundation of trust with God – and I always go back to what Lysa TerKeurst said in her book “Uninvited”. 3 things. Do I believe God is good? Do I believe God is good to me? Do I believe that God is good at being God? If so, there is no detail that should hld you back, no fear that should stop you dead in your tracks. As Romans 8:31-39 says
“1 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us,who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns?No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”[j]37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[k] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
So when God says your purpose in this phase of life, in this situation, in this circumstance looks like this, our reaction can be “God, I’m nervous, I don’t know the details, I’m scared out of my house slippers, but I believe that You are who You say You are, You’ll do what You’ve promised, and I’ll follow where you lead.”
I’ve seen this firsthand in my friend Lindsay’s life. When she messaged me what God was speaking to and asking of her about The Throne Room, she asked if it sounded crazy. My response was “Yes, a little!”. And that’s SO God. Crazy? A little. Worth it? Definitely! It’s been amazing to see her discover this part of her calling and utilize her purpose through The Throne Room.
So today as we pray for God to lead us to work for His Glory, we pray for opportunities to share His goodness, for ways to show His love, for Him to open our eyes to see the Holy Spirit lead. Let us remember what C.S. Lewis wrote when he paralleled the character Aslan to God in the book The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
-”Aslan is a lion – The Lion, The GREAT Lion.”
-”Ooh” said Susan “I’d have thought He was a man. Is he – quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous meeting a lion”
-”Safe?” said Mr. Beaver, “Who said anything about safe? ‘Course He isn’t safe. But He’s good. He’s the King I tell you!”