Be Ambitious

Read: Amos 7

I’m not a professional prophet, and I was never trained to be one. I’m just a shepherd, and I take care of sycamore-fig trees. Amos 7:14

IN WORD

Amos was a shepherd and a farmer. He didn’t have a prophet’s skill, a rabbi’s education, or a politician’s influence. He knew the ins and outs of tending sheep and pruning trees, and there’s every indication that these comprised the family business. He was not a likely candidate for rebuking a nation.

So why did God choose him? The same reason He chooses anyone. He picks the simple to confound the wise, He selects the weak to display His strength, and He is drawn to the willing to rebuke the stubborn. When God looks for servants, He looks for hearts. Everything else can be supplied later.

That should define your life more than anything else. If God met you at a dinner party, He wouldn’t ask what you do for a living or how many people are in your family. He would ask you what moves your heart, what dreams you have, and how committed you are to them. He doesn’t define us by the things we do. He defines us by our loves.

We can’t know completely all the reasons God chose Amos—how much of His choice was based on the personality and integrity of the shepherd. What we do know is that God is always focused on the things that count. He considers skills and qualifications usable, not indispensable. He isn’t limited by our limitations.

IN DEED

Have you let a sense of position or probability limit your labor in God’s Kingdom? Don’t. If your heart is right, He considers you much more qualified than you think. Don’t measure your life by externals. If the visions and dreams He has given you are inspired by Him, you have no reason not to go for them. A heart that is right with Him will always result in a life that is fruitful for Him.

ADDITIONAL READING: Psalm 37:4

The vision must be followed by the venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps. We must step up the stairs.

VANCE HAVNER