TAKE ACTION

PASTOR RYAN LADEN – DEVOTIONALS

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“Don’t be afraid of all the possible outcomes; be afraid of doing nothing.” 

The Lord wants his people to hear their calling, take a step of faith in the direction that the Lord has shown, and trust God to bring the right results. We often get lost in the unknown, afraid to take action for fear of being wrong. In the passage below, we hear how the Lord called the disciples to stop looking at clouds and to start moving in the right direction. 

9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. 10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

(Acts 1:9-11 NIV11)

See the Scene

Let’s do our best to imagine this scene. Gathered together, we have the disciples of Jesus, huddled around the risen Lord while he gives his friends and followers their final charge and call to be on God’s mission. Then the Lord departs by ascending into the air and disappearing in the clouds. 

If I were present for this sight, I too might be one of those left staring up into the sky, mouth open in amazement. This was certainly not what anyone expected Jesus to do after giving them the call to gather, wait, and prepare for the coming gift of the Holy Spirit. 

Messengers

And then, into this same scene, we see two messengers of the Lord appear and address the crowd of amazed disciples. This, too, would have been startling and unexpected. There was a lot going on in this moment. 

Questions

The messengers ask the disciples why they are just standing around staring at the clouds. The obvious answer was that they were in shock and uncertain of what they should do next. Should they wait there in case Jesus returns? What if they left and this was somehow not the right thing to do?

Return

The messengers tell the disciples that Jesus will come back in the same way that he left. What did they mean by this? What should they do about that? This was some confusing stuff. 

Attitude

I love what this scene tells me about God’s attitude toward the work of his church. 

The Lord gave the disciples their instructions and sent them out on their mission to live as witnesses for Christ wherever they should go. They knew that they were called to gather together and wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit (in whatever form that might take). 

But in this moment, they were bewildered and uncertain. And so the Lord speaks into this situation and challenges the people of faith to stop staring at the clouds and to go, get to work. The Lord was calling the people to be about the work that the Lord had called them toward. 

Application

For me, I love this call to action. The Lord is ready to use people like you and me to accomplish his will and his plan. He wants us to hear the call, step forward in faith, and then take action. 

I love how this is said in Proverbs 16:9, “We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps.”

The Lord calls us to be people of decision. We are to hear the call of God to go and live as witnesses for Christ in all we do and say, and then we are to make plans for our lives that we think will help us best live out this calling. 

We might not always get things “right.” We might make mistakes, miscalculations, and even encounter failure in our plans, but the Lord happily uses our decisions to accomplish his will and his plan in the way he sees as best. 

What plans are in your heart today?

•   How would you like to take action in your calling from the Lord today?
•   If you have a desire to serve God, give it a try. The Lord will use your effort and your ideas in a way that only God can. 
•   Don’t be afraid of all the possible outcomes; be afraid of doing nothing. 

In Christ, 

Ryan Laden

PASTOR RYAN LADEN

Senior Pastor at PARK HILL BAPTIST CHURCH

Worked at MTN. CHURCH

Former Senior pastor at Warnbro Community Church

Studies at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary

Studied at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary

Studied at Baylor University

Studied at Texas Tech University

Went to Castle Hills First Baptist

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