VOICE OF TRUTH FOR TODAY
Florence Nightingale: Following the Call
At sixteen years old, Florence Nightingale sensed God calling her to a life of service. She didn’t know what that calling would look like. Rather than rushing ahead, she was willing to wait for God to reveal it. As a young woman in Victorian England, Florence was expected to focus on socially acceptable pursuits and eventually marry well. Instead, she fought for permission to study mathematics and became exceptionally skilled in it.
Then she began sensing that God’s call might involve nursing.
Her parents were horrified. Nursing was considered disreputable work for a woman of her social class. Still, Florence persisted. At thirty-one, after turning down marriage proposals and waiting years for permission, she finally began formal nursing training.
Then came the Crimean War.
Florence was asked to lead a team of women caring for wounded British soldiers—something women had never before been permitted to do in combat. Her nighttime rounds among wounded soldiers earned her the famous name, “the Lady with the Lamp.” But that wasn’t the end of her calling.
After returning to England, Florence used the very mathematics she had fought to study years earlier to help establish modern professional nursing. Suddenly, the pieces made sense.
God had been preparing her all along.
Florence’s life beautifully reflects Paul’s declaration: “I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven” (Acts 26:19, GNT).
Ephesians 2:10 reminds us that God prepared good works for us in advance. Maybe you sense God calling you but can’t yet see how the pieces fit together. Be tenacious in seeking Him. Be patient in the waiting.
What seems unrelated today may become essential preparation for tomorrow. God knows your destiny. Trust Him to reveal it step by step.
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Excerpt from Voice of Truth Magazine
“Power Points: God at Work through Women Leaders Yesterday and Today” by Leecy Barnett