You might just be going about your normal business when a calling comes your way. Elisha was just minding his own business in First Kings 19:19, when Elijah came up to him and put his mantle on him. That was, in essence, saying, "Come serve with me. Be my disciple." God had told Elijah just a few verses earlier to take Elisha to be his successor as prophet for God's people. Elisha must have been taken by surprise, but the last two verses in the chapter tell us that he barbecued his oxen, using his farming equipment for kindling, and followed Elijah.
God still calls His children today. What has He called you to do? This past year, He called my husband and me to return to a ministry I had previously worked in. It is a wonderful ministry, but I had some misgivings. I can see how God has been preparing us for this. It is stretching me, in a good way. I'm in a different position than I had ever held in this ministry, and am learning a lot of new things. That can be intimidating, but I carry on. What has God called you to do?
Phil Schuler faced this question. As a little boy in the 1920's, he had had a serious injury that rendered him unable to speak, and severely messed up his spine (he got into the military to fight in WWII by submitting a friend's X-ray as his own--they would have never taken him if they'd seen his real X-ray. He had paid one dollar for a copy of his friend's X-ray, and he claimed he must have been the only man in US history to pay a dollar to get into the military! His deception was discovered after the war, upon his exit physical).
For the decade after that childhood accident, Phil could stammer, but not speak articulately. He carried a little pad of paper with him and wrote down everything in order to communicate. At the age of fourteen, he received Christ as his Savior. He was a joyful Christian for two years, no longer minding his limitations, because he was so overjoyed to know Christ. One night, when he was sixteen, he was struck with a strong sense that God was calling him to preach. He went forward at a revival, and was laughed at. His own father said, "God never called someone to preach the gospel who can't even answer the telephone!" (Maybe someone should have told him that the Apostle Paul never answered a telephone either!). The only person in his family who believed in his calling was his mother. He felt so battered by his father's and brother' doubts, but his mother was an angel of mercy to him. She showed him Exodus 4:11-12, But the Lord said to him, “Who has made the human mouth? Or who makes anyone unable to speak or deaf, or able to see or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now then go, and I Myself will be with your mouth, and instruct you in what you are to say."
The very next day, a youth pastor from their church came by and said, "I hear God called you to preach last night at the revival. Well, we're having a youth revival this Saturday. Will you preach for that?" He readily agreed. Now remember, he still hadn't spoken a coherent word since he was a young child, and he's agreeing to preach. He told us in this message that that youth pastor had had no common sense, but a lot of faith. Anyway, he wrote a note to his dad, asking him to help him prepare a sermon. His dad still didn't believe in his calling, but he finally agreed to help him write a sermon.
The big night came. I now mention that this youth revival was held at the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, and had several of the up-and-coming young actors of the late 1930s in attendance that night, such as Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland and some of Hal Roach's Our Gang kids. Phil walked up to the podium, opened his mouth...and his voice came out for the first time in a decade. It scared him to death, because his voice was very high-pitched from lack of use. Some of those in attendance knew him, and they were shocked to hear him speak. He was so excited that he wrapped up his dad's sermon in about five minutes, then just went off the cuff, doing everything he could to keep talking and using his voice! At the end of the hour, his father (who was slated to preach the next session) came forward in tears and said, "Son, you've convinced me you're called by God...but you're cutting into my hour! Wrap it up!"
Phil Schuler preached at the teen camp I attended as a Freshman in high school. He was in his 70's then. God had used him to preach the gospel for decades, and he challenged all of us that if God has called us to do something, and we're willing to obey, it's up to Him to prepare us. He couldn't even talk, and God called him. God will equip us to serve Him. I know it's cliché to say, but God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called.
If we had to wait until we had perfect motives and perfect understanding, we'd never get to serve the Lord. I look at Jesus. His disciples spent so much time learning from him, but they still didn't get it until the Resurrection, and even more so at Pentecost. And yet, long before they even understood the basic reason Jesus came, He sent them out in Luke 10. They were to heal the sick and preach the kingdom. They returned, joyfully amazed at what God had done. We believers today have the New Testament, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and much greater understanding of what God has done, and yet we hesitate. If you're like me, you might question, "Can I really do this?" "Isn't there someone more qualified than me?" "What about [insert your limitation]?" These questions might sound like humility, but they are really self-focused. They demonstrate a lack of faith. Remember, Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will do it. (First Thessalonians 5:24).
We tend to think of a calling in terms of a fulltime ministry career. The truth is, God calls us to a relationship with Him. He calls us to love our enemies. He calls us to study His word. He calls us to share Christ with those who don't know Him. He might call you into a ministry position, or he might call you into a secular job where you'll be the only witness some of your coworkers will know. He might call you to witness to your neighbors. He might call you to extend grace to someone who is very difficult. No matter the calling, you can do it, because you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you (Philippians 4:13).
In my life, I am learning to trust the Lord, obey what I know to be His revealed will, and leave the results up to Him. If He has called you to something, and you're willing to obey, it's up to Him to prepare you!
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