As I Followed the Flock

Even though in my chronological Bible reading I'm still back in Deuteronomy (almost to Joshua!), I happened to read a few verses in Amos the other day. They really resonated with me. To me, these couple of verses are so personal, and they really speak of not only Amos but of every Christian. Here they are:

... "I was no prophet, nor was I a son of a prophet, but I was a sheepbreeder, and a tender of sycamore fruit. Then the Lord took me as I followed the flock, and the Lord said to me, 'Go, prophesy to My people Israel.'"

~ Amos 7:14-15 (NKJV)

I don't know how many Bible readers have passed this up. I can only wonder at how many times it has been read, but never really meditated upon. It's perhaps one of the most profound parts of the Bible in terms of our identities and gifts. Allow me to explain.

Amos was just a regular guy. No noble blood, no noteworthy inheritance. He wasn't really a person of stature; he was merely a person. A man living his life, doing his job, walking with the Lord. As is noted in Keil and Delitzsch's Old Testament commentary, Amos was not even possessing the flocks which he tended nor the fruit which he pruned. He was a totally blue collar guy. 

Quite simply put, Amos was an average Joe. There wasn't anything "special" about him, really. Amos could be you, Amos could be me. He could be anybody, and the fact that he had no "significance" makes him so important. His ordinariness is what sets him apart. 

So here's where this gets me: Amos had no claim to prophecy. It wasn't his trained profession, he had no connections in prophecy, he wasn't related to any prophets... This job wasn't familiar to him. Instead of prophesying, he took care of sheep and fruit. He did his job well and loved God. Then one day as he is doing his work, God tells him to prophesy.

As he is doing his work. "As I followed the flock," Amos wrote.

God's call is "out of the blue" to Amos. It happened suddenly. I like what A. W. Tozer says:

God's people are so afraid of “suddenly”. They always want things to slip up on them a little bit at a time, slowly. Everybody is willing to be filled with the Holy Spirit provided God does it very gingerly and slowly, and does not take away their face nor embarrass them nor frighten them. But the scripture says, “Suddenly they were filled with the Holy Ghost.” It even says, “Suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly hosts.” I think you will find that word occurring whenever God did a wonderful thing. He did it suddenly.

God did a wonderful thing through Amos, and He most certainly did it without warning. He did it as Amos followed the flock. As Amos did his work, God did His. I've heard in so many places that God likes taking ordinary people to do extraordinary things. And it's true; He does. Amos is just one of many examples of that. I think the problem with so many of us is that we're lazy. "Oh, I'm just waiting on God," we'll say. "It's all Him now. I've prayed. All I can do is sit back." Um, no. You keep praying, and you keep working. Rewards don't come to people who don't do anything. They go to people who actually work for them.

Of course, I'm not saying that God only "helps those who help themselves" or anything like that. I'm not saying that if you don't work your butt off that God won't show up. I'm just saying that you can't be completely passive about your calling. You have to live expectantly. God won't trust you with the big things until you show Him He can trust you with the little things too. You can't just sit down in the midst of chaos waiting for God to show up. You have to stand up, fight for Him, and know that He'll come.

Amos didn't work for ten years and then say, "Alright. I've worked my fair share, it's about time God did something for a change. I'm just going to quit working and wait." Amos did his duty and expected God to do His. God called Amos out of his ordinary job to do something extraordinary -- go and prophesy to Israel. And God can do that for you, too.

You probably aren't a literal shepherd. I know I'm not. And you probably don't tend sycamore fruit. I don't even know what sycamore fruit really is. I don't know your circumstances. But I know mine. I'm a student, and I have a pretty normal life. But then, one day, God said "Hey. I want you to do this for Me." And as I followed the flock, as I lived my life and loved Him, He called me to something. It may not necessarily be prophecy, but God can do that for you too. I encourage you to trust Him with where you are, because He put you there for a reason. Do your duty. Do it heartily. And then, God just might show up.