Then Amaziah sent orders to Amos: “Get out of here, you prophet! Go on back to the land of Judah, and earn your living by prophesying there! Don’t bother us with your prophecies here in Bethel. This is the king’s sanctuary and the national place of worship!” But Amos replied, “I’m not a professional prophet, and I was never trained to be one. I’m just a shepherd, and I take care of sycamore-fig trees. But the Lord called me away from my flock and told me, ‘Go and prophesy to my people in Israel.’
-Amos 7:12-15 (NLT)

Amos was a shepherd and grower of figs from Tekoa, a town in the southern kingdom of Judah. His neighbors to the north in Israel had become complacent with God, which lead to their abuse of the poor. So God gave Amos a vision and instructed him to pass the message on to the Israelites. This pronouncement of judgment didn’t make Amos a popular guy, so much so that a priest named Amaziah tried to shut him up.

Notice how Amos responds to the priest’s attack… He simply says that he isn’t a professional prophet by any means. He’s just a shepherd.

I find it fascinating that Amos explained his reasoning for obeying God with the same excuses many people today give for disobeying God.

Have you ever heard yourself say, “I’d like to fully surrender my life to the Lord and truly follow his calling on my life… But I’m not a minister/pastor/evangelist/missionary. I’m just a student/waiter/nurse/accountant. I’ll just leave the big, scary stuff like that to the pros!”

And that’s why Amos’ story is so relevant. He didn’t have a “spiritual” job at all. He was a normal, everyday worker — a layperson. Amos wasn’t qualified to speak for God because of who he was or what he’d done. In fact, the opposite was true. Without any special training or unique preparation, Amos was qualified to be used by the Lord merely because he was willing to obey.

No matter who you are or what you are currently doing, God is speaking to you about something. It may not have the magnitude of confronting an entire nation with their sinful ways like Amos, but that doesn’t matter… Will you be obedient? Right now? Right as you are? Even if you run into some Amaziahs along the way?

Obedience to God, no matter what the calling, is the true sign of an unwavering servant. And it’s not just for the professional Christians.

It’s for us all.