Perhaps that’s why the line Ruth speaks to her mother-in-law takes my breath away: "Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God" (Ruth 1:16b). Now that’s courage — the kind of courage God asks of each of us.

I really do mean asks, rather than demands. In my own experience, God invites each of us say yes to what is asked of us, but God does not walk away in a snit if we say no. God does, however, continue to extend the invitation to us time and time again. God is nothing if not persistent.

In a workshop on discernment, a young woman said she wasn’t sure she wanted to practice discernment because she didn’t want to give God the reins. She wanted to choose her own path in life, and she was wise enough to know that — at least for the time being — she wasn’t willing to move outside her comfort zone. That’s true for most of us at various points in our lives.

And yet, some of the most rewarding moments I’ve known have come when I’ve found the courage to step outside that comfort zone. When I was first asked to write a book, I laughed at the idea. When I was asked to head a publishing house, I said no for three months. Both of those invitations seemed far-fetched to me. Both seemed like invitations to work in areas where I had little to offer. But God kept working on me, and I finally said yes to both offers. Looking back, I can’t imagine how much poorer my life would have been if I said no.

Perhaps you, too, are being invited to travel to new places, to try something a little different in your life. Or maybe that invitation is right around the corner. Either way, or even if you’re just looking for the courage to listen for God and go where you’re called, spend some time with this prayer of St. Augustine of Hippo. Then keep your ears and heart open, and perhaps God will surprise you.

Almighty God, in whom we live and move and have our being, you have made us for yourself, so that our hearts are restless till they rest in you; grant us purity of heart and strength of purpose, that no passion may hinder us from knowing your will, no weakness from doing it; but in your light may we see clearly, and in your service find perfect freedom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Debra K. Farrington is a retreat leader and has written eight books of Christian spirituality, including Hearing with the Heart: A Gentle Guide to Discerning God’s Will for Your Life (Jossey Bass, 2003). Learn more at her Web site is www.debrafarrington.com

This article is published in the September 2008 issue of Lutheran Woman Today.