Scripture: Genesis 46:1-3
When Israel set out on his journey with all that he had and came to Beer-sheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. God spoke to Israel in visions of the night, and said, “Jacob, Jacob.” And he said, “Here I am.” Then he said, “I am God, the God of your father; do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation there.”
Thought for the Day: Last night at my Wednesday evening Bible study, I tried to remember a specific African-American preacher, but I couldn’t recall her name. Even when I closed my eyes, I could picture the book on my shelf… but nothing else. After arriving home, I spent 30 seconds on Google, and by golly, it came right up—Jarena Lee. Though my memory (it had been 20 years since I read the book) was not quite correct. She had not been a slave, but was, as a preacher of the Gospel, an outspoken critic of slavery. And as a woman in the early 19th century, she was not only battling racism, but also sexism.
Jarena Lee described her call this way:
Between four and five years after my sanctification, on a certain time, an impressive silence fell upon me, and I stood as if some one was about to speak to me, yet I had no such thought in my heart. – But to my utter surprise there seemed to sound a voice which I thought I distinctly heard, and most certainly understand, which said to me, “Go preach the Gospel!” I immediately replied aloud, “No one will believe me.” Again I listened, and again the same voice seemed to say – “Preach the Gospel; I will put words in your mouth, and you will turn your enemies to become your friends.”
As I said a few weeks ago in my sermon, silence can be frightening, yet not for the reason most people might think. It’s not because the silence is empty and lonely. Just the opposite! The silence can be full of God’s presence, pulsating with the divine call…a call that quite often creates anxiety. “You want me to do what?”
The world needs more people who spend time listening into the silence, for that is where many will find the call of God.
Prayer: Let me find a quiet moment where I might listen for you, O Lord. If I find that moment and hear your voice beckoning me to actions, give me the strength to say, “Yes!” Amen.
