11/24/2017
When the Lord gives us a specific calling, or mission, that He wants us to accomplish, how do we know when it is complete? Have you ever left spiritual business unfinished because you took your eyes off of the Lord? Whether it is praying for someone each day, being a loving spouse, serving in a far off land, or simply mowing the yard of a sick neighbor; when does stopping become a matter of God, as opposed to our own lack of desire to continue on?
“To you I lift up my eyes, O you who are enthroned in the heavens! Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maidservant to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God, till he has mercy upon us.”
Psalms 123:1-2 ESV
I talk to pastors all the time, and it is always interesting to me how they felt the call of God when they joined the ministry. I have also talked to those who chose the ministry as a career without hearing God calling them. The former, for the most part, remain in God’s service while those that chose for themselves to serve as a Pastor often go into other things, or struggle mightily to accomplish what God leads the others into. Just like a master has various tasks for his servants, so God has various callings and desires for His children.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,”
Hebrews 12:1 ESV
One such failed Pastor had thought that he was to be a man of the cloth, not because he had been called, but because he wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps. He struggled on for a few years, and then left the ministry entirely. It was a time of great spiritual upheaval within him, and he felt as though he had abandoned God. In fact, he had not, because he had never been called in the first place. Later, he did get a call, but it wouldn’t be of his own choosing, and although it wasn’t, it would change his life, and many others.
When God calls us it changes our lives. We struggle with it, and the only way we can possibly go on is to keep our eyes firmly fixed upon Him and Jesus. The calling isn’t the question, but our ability to do what He has called us to do is! We must endure, even as Jesus did.
“looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Hebrews 12:2 ESV
I met a Pastor who was called to reach out to lost souls in the Middle East. Our meeting was profound, and an incredible experience. I had words of encouragement for him that pertained to his calling, but as we spoke I also received an unexpected calling for myself... I was told to pray for this man. I am not talking about a single prayer (which did occur as we spoke), but to pray every day, and not just for a week, a month, or a year, but for the rest of my life.
There aren’t many callings that are for a lifetime. Calls to the ministry are, and my call to prayer is, but most are single occurrences, or for a period of time. Sometimes, the calling is even modified in some way.
Men and women are called to the pastoral vocation, and then within that calling, they are called to serve in a specific church or ministry. Another thing that interests me is how God calls a minister to a specific church, and then later calls them out. In almost every calling to serve somewhere there is very little doubt, it is like God pushes a His finger into the soft ground and drops a seed into the depression; but when a Pastor is called out it is like ripping the roots of a full grown plant from the ground... it takes a great deal of struggle, and effort. The struggle isn’t on God’s part, but in the eyes and life of the Pastor and those he serves. He asks such questions as “Is this truly of God, or is this my desire to change?” And quite often “how will they be able to carry on without me?” The struggle involves a feeling of abandoning God’s call prematurely, and invariably, a feeling that the success or failure of that church or mission is dependent on them... and not firmly in the hands of God as it truly is. Being in a calling for a lifetime involves commitment, and lives become intertwined with the day to day callings to the point that we find it hard to separate the two.
Earlier I gave the example of praying for a man for the rest of my life. Doing this is not something taken lightly, and it involves a great deal of struggle to insure that my prayers are not just words, but a true expression of intercession. It is waking up in the middle of the night, or having your day interrupted with the sudden need to pray... right now! These prayers are occasionally for provision, sometimes for protection, or for some other reason, but the call is loud and need is urgent. I have often found myself worrying about what would happen to this Pastor if I became too ill to pray for him... if I was in an accident that left me in a coma. The answer is always the same... I am doing this for the Lord, and if he pulls me out of it he will place someone else in my place. The task isn’t about me... it is about God’s will being done. I was just the best tool for the job at the time... just as the Pastor for whom I pray is.
So we know when the calling has reached an end by looking up... by asking God if He is calling us away. God chose Elijah, and then he called him away, but he placed Elisha in the void that would have been left. God does this with us as well... we are never the end of God’s will... just the means of implementing it.
“And as they still went on and talked, behold, chariots of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.”
2 Kings 2:11 ESV
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for calling me in various ways because I know that in them I serve you. I thank you for the pastors you place in my path, and I thank you for all of your children that hear a calling through your Word and say “hear am I.” I know Father that one day you will call me out, you will call me home, and I know that in so doing your call and will passes on to another. For this time, and my call, I pray that you give me strength to do your bidding and serve your will well. Help me Lord to separate the work I do for you from myself... never let me confuse what I do at your beckoning with being my own work. If ever I do Father, then call me away from it swiftly because I have become a broken tool in your hand. You are great beyond all measure, and the strength and other gifts you give that allow us to serve you are never our own. Send us to do as you will, and call us back when your will has been served. You are to be glorified, and in all of our efforts you are the focus... praise be to you in all things, and for all time.
Rich Forbes