Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”
John 6:28 (NIV)
Lord Jesus, as I read the words that the crowd asked You, knowing their hearts, I confess I can sometimes see myself in that. I ask You what You would have me to do, listening attentively. And then You place something in my heart or present an opportunity to me that seems bizarre or “out in left field,” and immediately I question whether I heard You right or whether it was You at all. What makes it wrong is that I then go and do something completely opposite of it or nothing at all. In essence, I am responding like those disciples who the text says, “turned back and longer walked with him (John 6:66).” Have mercy!
Today, Lord, I come before You with the words of Samuel: “Speak, Lord; Your servant is listening.” Tell me what You would have me to do and I shall do it. Show me where You would have me to go and I shall go. Tell me what You would have me to say and I shall say it. I am Your disciple, sitting at Your feet, learning Your ways, and obeying Your will.
When I challenge what You are beckoning me to do, rebuke me. When I question where You are directing me to go, reprimand me. When I second guess the sacrifices You are asking me to make, correct me. It is my heart’s desire to serve You and to please You. Even as You came to do the will of the Father (John 6:38), I am here to do Your will. Even as You endured for the joy set before You (Hebrews 12:2), I choose to endure. You are the Potter. I am the clay (Isaiah 64:8). Even as Isaiah declared, so do I: Here I am. Send me (Isaiah 6:8). My supreme desire in this life, above all the other things and people in this world, is to please You! Use me to Your glory! Amen!