The Ledger

By Jennifer Greene-Sullivan

My phone rang unexpectedly this week.

The conversation lasted only a few minutes, but it lingered in my mind long after I hung up. Years ago, I would have immediately begun weighing the pros and cons of the offer I received. I would have made lists, calculated benefits, and tried to determine whether the opportunity represented a better path forward. Instead, I found myself doing something very different.

I thanked God, and I prayed that I would move only if He wanted me to move. Sunday while getting dressed for church, the Lord spoke clearly to my heart, “Move when I say move.” I stood there contemplating those instructions, but I couldn’t fathom what He meant. Yet, just two days later the subject of those instructions became clearer. 

My issue was not the opportunity itself because my decision would reveal my true character. As I sat in my tiny house office later that afternoon, I realized the conversation would have affected me very differently eleven years ago. Back then, I often confused opportunity with calling. If a door opened, I assumed I should walk through it. If something appeared bigger, better, or more appealing, I interpreted it as progress.

These days, I ask a different question: is this where Jesus is leading me?

That question brought me back to studying Paul and Silas sitting in a prison cell in Acts 16:22-34. Most of us know what happened next. Around midnight, after praying and singing hymns to God, an earthquake shook the foundations of the prison (Acts 16:25-26). The chains fell away, the doors flew open, and freedom stood right in front of them. 

The open door was real, yet Paul and Silas stayed.

For years, I focused on the miracle of this story. This week, I found myself focusing on their obedience and on their calling. Every practical reason suggested that Paul and Silas should leave, yet they remained because God was doing something bigger than they could see. The prison doors had opened, but the jailer’s heart had not. Their assignment was not simply to experience freedom. It was to help someone else find it.

I think many of us spend our lives praying for open doors while forgetting to ask whether the door is ours to walk through or not. Sometimes God’s greatest blessings are not found in the opportunities we pursue, but in the assignments we faithfully keep. Making the godly decision requires discernment, trust, and a willingness to follow the Shepherd even when another path appears more appealing.

Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27, ESV). He did not say His sheep follow opportunities, promotions, or promises of something better. They follow Him. The older I become, the more grateful I am for that truth because opportunities come and go, but the voice of Jesus remains the same.

As I reflected on that phone call, I realized the greatest gift was not the opportunity itself. The gift was recognizing how much the Lord has changed my heart. Eleven years ago, I might have followed the opportunity. Today and tomorrow, I will follow the Shepherd.

The phone call ended a few minutes after it began, but the lesson has stayed with me all week. Open doors will continue to appear throughout our lives, and some of them will be genuine blessings. However, I am learning that peace is not found in chasing every possibility. Peace is found in staying close enough to Jesus that I can recognize His voice when He speaks.

Staying close to Jesus enables me to keep flying when my wings have been torn. God’s children do not soar because every path is clear or every decision is easy. We keep flying because the One who leads us is faithful. 

As it turns out, the Lord’s instructions on Sunday morning were much simpler than I realized:

 Move when I say move.

 Stay when I say stay.

Trust Me enough to know the difference. 

Because torn wings still fly when they follow the Shepherd.