The words of Amos, who was among the sheepbreeders of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake. (NKJ)
Amos grew up, like many of us, probably not anticipating that he would become a prophet for the Lord. He didn’t attend any of the "prophet schools," but rather was trained as a sheepherder. According to some of the commentaries I read, there is the possibility that he was a wealthy herd owner, but more likely that he was a poor sheepherder who lived in a very rural town that consisted mainly of nomadic families who followed the water. The town, Tekoa, was in the hills above the Dead Sea. In the winter and spring, there were fields in the area suitable for grazing, but as the warmer summer months approached, the herders would take their flocks further east, closer to the Dead Sea, in order to find adequate foliage for their animals. This was likely the kind of life that Amos lived . . . until God spoke to him. It was a quiet life, a life focused on the day-to-day care of his sheep, a life of quiet and simplicity.
And then God spoke.
In fact, Amos says that he saw the words, rather than heard them. It may have been that he saw the vision and wrote it into words; it may be that he was literate and God showed him the words in actual writing. It may be that God supernaturally gave him the ability to read what he was shown. Regardless, God spoke and Amos was receptive not only to hearing from the Lord but to obeying it.
And isn’t that the point of it all?
As contemporary Christians, we may be those which fill our lives with the "word of God," through TV programs, through the Internet, through listening to CD’s, through even reading the Word. But none of that is important if we fail to act on what God has shown us. I actually am coming to believe that we can drown ourselves in Christian-speak and still be spiritually starving. Do you know that it’s possible to drown in water and yet be dehydrated? When the water is allowed to do what it’s not supposed to do (go into our lungs), it can kill us! I think that many Christians are spiritually starving while they are simultaneously immersing themselves in Christian stuff. Why? Because they are failing to apply what they are hearing. In fact, we can sometimes hear too much. It becomes overwhelming. We don’t know where to start and so we fail to start at all.
That happens to me. I want to change my diet, but when I do research and am bombarded with the many, MANY options, I end up not doing any of them. I’m afraid to choose the wrong one, so I choose none.
I think that, as Christians, we can hear too much Christian-speak, become confused about what to actually do in our lives, and end up walking back into the lifestyles that we have previously had, not making any changes and never becoming more Christlike. Perhaps the problem is that we’re allowing ourselves to listen to "just anybody" rather than seeking the message of the Word for ourselves. Perhaps also we are listening to teachers whose lives we’ve failed to investigate. (Not everyone who says they’re a Christian is truly following the Lord.)
Amos listened to God and God alone. Amos was willing to step outside of his comfort zone and respond in obedience to the Lord. I’m sure there were times he totally regretted God choosing him for this assignment. But perhaps the one reason God did choose him is because the Lord knew Amos would be obedient and do what God wanted him to do. Perhaps God hasn’t yet chosen us because we aren’t yet willing to be obedient regardless of what’s asked of us. Perhaps we fill up our time with Christian TV, CD’s and books because we think by doing so, we are putting in our time. Perhaps we really don’t want to hear from God. What if He asked us to move outside of our comfort zone? What if He asked us to do something that was really hard . . . or painful . . . or difficult? And yet, we can do all things through Christ! Do we believe that . . . or not?
I know that I’m no more than a sheepherder in this society. I’m not famous. I’m not wealthy. I’m not powerful. I’m simply a woman who wants to follow the Lord.
Perhaps that really is enough.
© 2014 Robin L. O’Hare. All Rights Reserved.
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