Arise & Go: The Call You’ve Been Avoiding…
The Lord knows no coincidence. The Arise and Go Challenge Card you pick up each week is meant for YOU. It is an opportunity to continue in sanctification by saying “YES” to what the Lord has in store to build His kingdom.
The challenge cards are meant to supplement the encouragement that occurs in our Bible study and discipleship communities throughout the week.
This fall, Caroline has been convicted and encouraged by the Proverbs Tuesday morning Women’s Bible Study. Last week, the study focused on the power of the words we use—specifically the negative impact of perverse and deceptive speech. Perverse speech is defined as “words that distort truth or reality” or “words that describe sin as something other than sin.”
It is easier to remain passive and apathetic about sin in our own lives and in the lives of those we are close to than it is to call sin out. But we are called to encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ to live lives that honor God. In fact, Proverbs says, “Whoever says to the wicked, ‘You are in the right,’ will be cursed by the peoples, abhorred by nations, but those who rebuke the wicked will have delight, and good blessing will come upon them” (24:24-25).
Jonah ran away from God because he knew it would be EASIER to get on a ship to Tarshish than rebuke the wicked, but God doesn’t call us to what’s easy; He calls us to what’s right.
When Caroline drew her challenge card on the following Sunday and read:
“Write down one step of obedience you’re avoiding and commit to act on it,” her heart sank.
See, there was a difficult conversation with a friend that she’d been avoiding for some time. It was easier to be complacent about sin. It was easier to let her friend walk in sin than it was to call them to something higher—God’s forgiveness and redemption.
That afternoon, she picked up the phone and called her friend. The conversation, while nerve-racking, went well. Caroline remembered that truth is best spoken in love—and apathy is not love. At the end of the call, the friend said, “Thank you for speaking the truth and calling me to live a life that honors God.”
God works through the church to encourage, equip, and SEND His people to do His will.
How will your challenge card encourage you to Arise and Go? Tell us your story today at Orangewood.org/story.