"Then answered Amos, and said to Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet’s son; but I was an herdman, and a gatherer of sycomore fruit:
And the Lord took me as I followed the flock, and the Lord said unto me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel."
Amos 7:14-15
This is an interesting excerpt about how Amos was called to be a prophet. I think it is interesting because it is clear that it wasn't the future that Amos was expecting or planning for, and maybe one that he didn't even want at the time. Being a prophet is hard work, especially when people try to kill you, which seems to happen to prophets a lot.
I wonder how often calls us and we're not listening/answering, because it isn't something that we expect or maybe even want. We often *think* we want to hear the voice of the Lord, but when he does speak and asks us to do something, we often cringe away, as Amulek explains that he did "I was called many times and I would not hear; therefore I knew concerning these things, yet I would not know" (Alma 10:6).
How do we think of ourselves? Amos says here "I was no prophet" ... it isn't something that he identified with, or thought of himself as. And yet, God called him. In Numbers 11:29, Moses expresses a wish that everyone had the experience of being a prophet... maybe because it was hard for him and he wanted other to relate, maybe because then people would understand what God wanted them to do, or maybe just because then his job wouldn't be so hard, because everyone would be listening to the Lord. :) And we definitely can't all be *the* prophet that speaks for God and his church, but we *can* all receive inspiration/revelation from God for ourselves and our responsibilities, which is also a prophetic thing. Maybe we need to let go of the "that's not who I am or what I want" thing, like Amos had to, in order to really hear what God has to say, and also in order to be who we really can be.
Today, no matter how much we just want to pick sycomore fruit, let's be open to doing, and being, more than we expected.
And the Lord took me as I followed the flock, and the Lord said unto me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel."
Amos 7:14-15
This is an interesting excerpt about how Amos was called to be a prophet. I think it is interesting because it is clear that it wasn't the future that Amos was expecting or planning for, and maybe one that he didn't even want at the time. Being a prophet is hard work, especially when people try to kill you, which seems to happen to prophets a lot.
I wonder how often calls us and we're not listening/answering, because it isn't something that we expect or maybe even want. We often *think* we want to hear the voice of the Lord, but when he does speak and asks us to do something, we often cringe away, as Amulek explains that he did "I was called many times and I would not hear; therefore I knew concerning these things, yet I would not know" (Alma 10:6).
How do we think of ourselves? Amos says here "I was no prophet" ... it isn't something that he identified with, or thought of himself as. And yet, God called him. In Numbers 11:29, Moses expresses a wish that everyone had the experience of being a prophet... maybe because it was hard for him and he wanted other to relate, maybe because then people would understand what God wanted them to do, or maybe just because then his job wouldn't be so hard, because everyone would be listening to the Lord. :) And we definitely can't all be *the* prophet that speaks for God and his church, but we *can* all receive inspiration/revelation from God for ourselves and our responsibilities, which is also a prophetic thing. Maybe we need to let go of the "that's not who I am or what I want" thing, like Amos had to, in order to really hear what God has to say, and also in order to be who we really can be.
Today, no matter how much we just want to pick sycomore fruit, let's be open to doing, and being, more than we expected.
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