When Was The Last Time You Just Said "Whatever"?

So perhaps I need to start by clarifying my question...  When was the last time you said 'Whatever', to God?

I have a dear friend who is going through A LOT right now... She's kind of a modern day Job and I love her attitude...  Everyday she just gets up and says 'whatever.'  Not in an apathetic sort of way, but in a totally surrendered way...  If He wants her to go somewhere...  she goes...  If her plans have to change...  she's fine with that...  Even in the midst of trials, my sweet friend just wants to be obedient to 'whatever' God has in store for her.

So that got me thinking...  In Sunday School, we are going through John Ortberg's book, "If You Want To Walk On Water, You Have To Get Out Of The Boat."  Now don't get me wrong, I am not criticizing his book at all...  It's a great book and our Sunday School teachers are outstanding...  But sometimes, different experiences lead to different perspectives and I've been thinking about this study from a slightly different perspective...

Granted, we are only a few chapters into the book, but for the first few weeks, much of our discussion has centered around our calling in life and we've looked at our gifts...our passions...and our desires...  But this past week, as we were challenged to think about where God has called us to step out in faith in the past, I was very confused.  My two experiences that immediately came to mind were adopting and traveling to Africa...  Neither of which meet any of the criteria that we were discussing.  I guess I should have spoken up, our Sunday School is an open discussion format, but I just couldn't seem to formulate my thoughts, until today...

Here's the thing...  Neither traveling to Africa or adopting were things that I had ever desired to do...  I don't have any spiritual gifts that would lend themselves to a calling like that, and I certainly didn't have a passion for it...

And then there was my husband, Africa was a little easier, but he was completely opposed to the idea of adoption...  In fact, initially, he said to me what has been said a thousand times, if it's been said once...  "I just don't feel called to adopt."

I will never forget, after I was absolutely convinced that we were supposed to adopt, him coming to me one evening and saying, "Sharla, what if God NEVER moves my heart to adopt?"  After a minute, in a moment of what could only have been divine inspiration, I said, "As long as I can know you are praying with a surrendered heart, then I will accept that it is not God's calling on our lives."  Funny though, when he prayed with a surrendered heart, we went to China!!

So here's what I've been thinking today... Yes, absolutely, God does use our gifts and passions, and many other things to confirm our calling...  But the place we begin to seek His calling is not in our gifts, passions or feelings, but in His WORD!!!

God says to care for the poor and needy...  So we pray, with a completely surrendered heart, about where God wants us to obedient in that...  We know that He has a heart for orphans...  So we pray with a surrendered heart about whether He wants us to adopt... Over and over, Scripture shows us what God wants...  They're not nice little suggestions...they are often commands...  It's not really a matter of 'if' God wants me to serve Him in this way... but 'how' does God want me to serve Him...

Maybe, as you've read my previous posts, you've been thinking, "Well, God hasn't called me to Africa..."  But how do you know?  Have you prayed with a surrendered heart?  Or is it just because you don't have a 'feeling' that you want to go?  Maybe if you've been following for a long time, you might have thought, "Well God hasn't called me to adopt?"  But how do you really know?  Have you prayed with a surrendered heart?  Maybe you don't feel called to teach Sunday School, reach out to your neighbor, visit the local homeless shelter...  But how do you know?  Have you prayed with a surrendered heart?


There is a wonderful team traveling to Swaziland next summer...  They need 300 people to partner with local churches to do Vacation Bible School...plant community gardens and just love on the people who are so desperate to know that God still sees them...  Will you pray with a surrendered heart about going?

There are hundreds of thousands of orphans that need a forever family...  Will you pray with a surrendered heart about adopting just one of them?

There are families who need financial assistance to adopt?  If God really isn't calling you to adopt, would you pray with a surrendered heart and help them?

There are widows and elderly people who need a ride to the grocery store, or the doctor, or just a visit...  Will you pray with a surrendered heart about reaching out to them?

There are food banks who need food...  Homeless shelters who need volunteers...  Teams that need godly coaches...  Schools who need volunteers... I could go on and on listing the needs of this world, but would you say 'yes' even before you knew the question?  Would you just get up in the morning and say, 'Whatever' Lord?  If not, then I would gently suggest that maybe you don't really know what God is calling you to do...