One day, a friend of mine was talking to me about the space program and the astronauts. His thoughts emphasize the importance of careful listening followed by obedience.

I was sitting in there one day… watching the shuttle hook up for the last time for the space station… and God began to speak to me about the astronauts and NASA…. [T]he astronauts are trained for years for that moment in time. Years of training… discipline and… building relationships and structure so that when they get hooked up there they can be effective in what they do.  When they get up there, the amazing thing is that no matter what they do, it has to be approved from Houston…. [They don’t own the space station.] They are just sent there to work on it. So the experience that the disciplined astronaut is having is being controlled by an outside force, by somebody else. …God showed me… [that] the people in Houston that will never travel to that space station… never be on that shuttle….

…[Thus, God] will never be able to fulfill his experience on earth until we become obedient to the voice that tells us what to do. …[W]e can say we are disciples, but disciples are people who do what they are told…. [I]n a moment… I realized that God’s experience on this earth is not complete until I can do exactly what He tells me to do. If I miss it, if I stop, or if I change, He will bring me around…. I had been trained for 30 years for this moment. Am I fit for the ride? Am I ready? Am I obedient enough to be sent? Am I faithful enough to hear his voice? Can He send me where He wants me to go, and do what needs to be done? Or am I going to get out there and cop an attitude? Or am I going to choose who I listen to and get up there and fuss, or am I going to rebel? …Many are called to the space program, but only a few are chosen to fly.

God does not get to experience Earth except through you! Will you be one whom He chooses because of your obedience to His voice? There have been many great people who have still fallen short on this one issue.