Change Jobs Or Change Attitude?
by Dan Jones, M.D.
Luke 5:8-11
When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!" For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon's partners.
Then Jesus said to Simon, "Don't be afraid; from now on you will catch men." So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.
The dramatic events of the early morning had left Simon astonished. After fishing all night without success, on obeying the command from Jesus to try again in deep waters, the catch was too great to be contained in the boat. Simon confessed his sin before Jesus and “left everything and followed him.”
What is it that Jesus wants from you? This is a question you must ask yourself. And, like Simon, each of us needs to be prepared to leave everything to follow Jesus. God has a plan for each and every one of his children. He wants us to be ready to follow his command to follow him.
For many young Christians, this commitment to leave everything and follow Jesus can be a confusing issue. Surely, God does call on some people to change vocations to fulfill his will. But God uses all kinds of jobs and vocations to serve his purpose.
One of my residents came to visit one day to tell me he felt God was calling him to resign his residency position and enroll in seminary to become a pastor. He was a particularly bright and promising young physician. I had no doubt that it was possible for God to ask this of him, but I wanted to take time with him to explore what he was experiencing. After several sessions together in prayer and Bible study, he realized that what God was asking of him was a total commitment of his life to God’s will. He realized his call from God was not in the pulpit, but to completely give over to God his professional life as he had done other parts of his life. I’m happy to say that today this fine physician is chief of cardiology in a large hospital. God has used his professional life to advance His Kingdom in unusual ways. What God was asking of him in those early days was not a change of jobs, just a change of heart. He needed to leave everything and follow God. He did give up his own control of work and gave all of his life over to God’s control
Lord, thank you for using all we have for your glory, including vocation.
Dan Jones, M.D., MACP, FAHA, a board-certified Internist, a former medical missionary to Korea, professor of medicine at the University of Mississippi School of Medicine, Dean of the School of Medicine, and Chancellor of the University of Mississippi until 2015. Dr. Dan Jones is a member of CMDA.
Dr. Jones welcomes any comments or questions about what he has written and can be reached at - djones@umc.edu
Rounds with the Master, Spiritual Pearls from the Great Physician Devotionals are released every Monday and Thursday.
