Will I Do Everything He Wants?

In Acts 13, Paul speaks to people gathered in a synagogue on the Sabbath. He was asked by the rulers for "a message of encouragement." He begins way back with the Israelites being led out of Egypt, summarizes 450 years or so, touches on the judges and prophets, and then mentions how the people asked for a king and God gave them Saul. "After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: 'I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do'" (Acts 13:22).

Paul continues by launching directly into how Jesus was brought to them via this lineage. But I stopped right in the middle of Paul's message, because that last line from verse 22 stuck with me. I wondered, Am I a woman who will do everything God wants me to do?

When I graduated college, I would have. I wanted to do or be whatever God wanted. I expressed this to Him often in the little campus chapel where I'd slip away from the crowds of students to pray. If only He would show me, I would go anywhere and do anything for Him, even--gulp--Africa. Offering to go to Africa was shorthand for saying "really, Lord, honestly, I mean it, I will go a n y w h e r e for You." I did mean it. I would have gone. . .by faith that He'd help me every step of the way, because I was such a wimp on my own.

But no African opportunities presented themselves to me at the time, so I went with what was in front of me. Following in the footsteps of a group of friends, I moved less than two hours away to help plant a church in a wealthy suburb of the state capital. As you can imagine, this was a long way from Africa. So much for sacrifice. Am I this much of a wimp, Lord? Is this where You want me? In a cushy city in the Midwest, serving at a church plant for well-off Americans?
As far as I could tell, the answer was yes. So I went, because I wanted to do everything He wanted me to do.

Over the years I often ask this question, and I find myself asking it again this week: Am I still doing everything God wants me to do?

It's even harder to tell today than it was in college, now that my life is intimately intertwined with five other people's.

I want to. I want to do everything He wants me to do. If God tells me what to do using His still, small voice, it could get tricky. I'm not sure I'll hear it over the cacophony of kids practicing flute, clarinet and piano downstairs in the living room or the screeching of tag in the back yard. Or the van--I spend so much time in the van, and it gets so loud. "Could you speak up, Lord, over The Boy singing in the back seat at the top of his lungs?" I could miss it so easily while racing off to the soccer fields.

I want to be open and available. But it's not just me any longer. Now a group of six people must be open and willing to do everything God wants us to do. It's a challenging question to consider. What if God says, "Hey, remember your offer from the late '80s, when you said a n y w h e r e ? Well, I have in mind this little country east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. You know the one. The Pantene girl is giving her prize money to help build a village there. I'm just wondering, Ann, are you still available?"

What would I say?