Follow God's Call
By Gary Anderson | 5/5/2020

Follow God’s Call


Mark 1:16–20 (NLT) The First Disciples

16 One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. 17 Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” 18 And they left their nets at once and followed him. 

19 A little farther up the shore Jesus saw Zebedee’s sons, James and John, in a boat repairing their nets. 20 He called them at once, and they also followed him, leaving their father, Zebedee, in the boat with the hired men.


God calls us to something greater than ourselves. Nothing should stand in the way of that calling, not even vocation, a loved one's lack of understanding, or the practicality of following. It wasn’t very practical for these first four disciples to leave their family businesses to come and follow Jesus. If they were no longer fishermen, how would they earn a living? If they left their nets there in the boat, who would do the fishing? You know Jesus single-handedly caused the fishing industry to collapse. He was calling people to follow him left and right. It’s no wonder that later in Mark chapter 6 they could only come up with 2 fishes and a few loaves of bread to feed five thousand people. Following Jesus has never been practical—but, He’s there to work in you to help you fulfill your calling. So what is holding you back from leaving your nets? Have you decided to answer God’s call on your life?


How much did the disciples know about what they were getting into? Probably not very much, but Jesus had already proven himself trustworthy. 


How do I know that I’m up to the task? You probably aren’t up to the task on your own, but God is at work in the situation so you are not alone.

Philippians 1:6 (NIV)

6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.