This morning I took time to go through several weeks’ worth of church bulletins tucked inside my Bible cover. One of my notes from our pastor’s sermon a few weeks ago really jumped out at me so I thought I would share it as a mindset to start the week:

We’re not called to success – we’re called to obedience.

It’s easy to think that if we hear and follow God’s call on our lives that we’ll be successful in whatever that job might be. Not so, my friends. Just look at Isaiah – God told him up front that people would reject him and not listen to the messages he brought, yet he followed God’s direction and shared the messages anyway. Not an easy job by any means.

What about us? When does God call us to something that we don’t want to do because it will be difficult … or we’ll look crazy … or we’d rather be called to do something else? God’s directions come in big and small ways, in things that seem successful in the world’s eyes and in things that the world might look down on. Let’s work toward focusing more on our obedience this week and less on what we want for ourselves or think is best. If we slow down enough to listen and obey, He just might have some wonderful surprises in store for us.