Have you ever had a bridge burning moment? You know, the kind that you know will radically alter your life forever?

Amy Carmichael, a young missionary woman in India, had just one of those moments. She had been very busy doing her regular missionary work when a frantic knock came at her front door in the middle of the night that changed everything.

In front of Amy stood a terrified seven-year-old girl named Preena.

Preena’s mother had given her to the local Hindu temple in hopes of gaining favor with the gods. Many girls like Preena were sold, given or abandoned at temples where they would become child prostitutes. Preena had managed to slip past her sleeping captors and flung herself into Amy’s arms as soon as she opened the door.

“Please don’t send me back!” she begged.

Amy knew that she could face serious consequences for harboring Preena; death was not out of the question. She also knew that if she made this choice, there was no going back. Amy realized that this was exactly what God had called her to.

Amy kept Preena, but she didn’t stop there. Eventually, she would rescue over 1,000 temple children and set up the Dohnaver Fellowship, which after more than 100 years, is still caring for orphans.

That bridge burning moment turned out to be the gateway to Amy’s Divine destiny.

In Haggai 2:18, God told His people: “From this day on, think carefully: from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month…” everything was going to change. He had put a job in front of them and as soon as they started it in obedience the difference would be so obvious that they could literally mark the exact day on their calendar.

You and I will be faced with bridge burning days many times in our lives. Let’s be ready, like Amy Carmichael, to say, “yes,” to God the moment that He asks us to and follow Him right into our Divine calling.