Chosen and Sent

 

Jesus told them, 

‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. 

Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers 

into His harvest field.’ 

 Luke 10:2

The new year opens not with control, but with calling. Jesus looks out on the world and names its deepest reality: the harvest is already plentiful. Need is everywhere, hearts are ready, and God is already at work long before we arrive. Yet Jesus does not begin by urging action; He begins by calling His disciples to prayer. “Ask the Lord of the harvest,” He says, grounding mission first in dependence. William Barclay notes that Jesus sends His followers “not as conquerors, but as messengers,” reminding us that we enter the year not to manage outcomes, but to participate humbly in God’s work—bearing a word of peace, trusting God with the results, and leaving the harvest in His hands rather than our own.

Jesus then sends His disciples ahead of Him—lightly, vulnerably, and together (Luke 10:1, 4). “I am sending you out like lambs among wolves,” He warns (Luke 10:3), offering no illusion of ease, only the assurance of purpose. E. Stanley Jones observed that the early Christians were effective not because they were powerful, but because they were convinced that “something had happened in the world that changed everything.” They went bearing peace, healing the sick, and announcing that “the kingdom of God has come near” (Luke 10:9). God’s choosing propels them outward—not with force, but with faithful presence.

As we step into this new year, we are reminded that being sent does not require a complete map of the future. Rick Warren wisely says, “God’s call on your life is not about your ability, but your availability,” encouraging us to stop waiting until we feel confident or capable, and instead to offer ourselves—ordinary, willing, and present—for God to use as He chooses. Such a life must be sustained by prayer. As E. M. Bounds insisted, “God shapes the world by prayer,” reminding us that prayer keeps us close to the heart of God when the path ahead feels uncertain. As we pray, we learn to ask, to trust, and to obey—walking forward with quiet confidence that what we need will be given along the way and that God’s purposes will unfold one faithful step at a time.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, as this new year begins, send us where You will. Teach us to pray before we act, to trust rather than control, and to live as people of peace in the places You place us. Go before us and work through us for Your kingdom. Amen.