Hearing His Voice #258

Go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 28:19

When William Carey was called to missions, hardly anyone thought it was a good idea. His work would spark the modern missions movement, but like most trailblazers, he faced a lot of opposition. Few within the church thought it necessary for Christians to take the gospel to distant lands. One church leader even rebuked Carey, suggesting that if God wanted to save “the heathen,” He could do it without Carey’s help. Yet Carey persisted because he was convinced he had heard God’s call.

How did that call come to Carey? By his own account, his heart was awakened to missions by reading The Last Voyage of Captain Cook. Most people saw nothing but fascinating adventures in the book. Carey, however, was moved by its depiction of human needs. He felt God’s compassion, and he took that—later reinforced by scriptural instruction—to be God’s voice to him.

Is it really possible that the modern missions movement, which has taken the gospel to the ends of the earth, was initially prompted in a young man’s heart by an adventurous explorer’s journal? Apparently so. It wasn’t the sole source of God’s voice to Carey—God spoke to him through the needs of people and the great commission—but it was a vehicle that began to lead Carey in search of God’s will. While some people dismiss the idea that God speaks through nonbiblical sources, God isn’t limited to chapters and verses. He can spark our true, divinely ordained passions through art, music, science, adventure, and all other human endeavors. He knows how to capture our hearts, and He uses a multitude of means to do so. He speaks by stirring and cultivating our interests.

Lord, like William Carey, I want to “expect great things” from You and “attempt great things” for You. Toward that end, spark my heart however You choose. There is no division between sacred and secular in Your Kingdom. I embrace everything You use, every hint of Your voice, as sacred to me.