06/08/2023
Are we running the race that God has laid out before us, or are we like the horse that never left the gate when the gun sounded? Is the call of the Lord fading into the distance, or are we following His call into an exciting adventure? These are the questions to ponder today.
God calls us, but we don't always answer. There are various reasons why this is so, but one of the most common is complacency. A knock comes at the door, but we don't rise and greet who is there because we don't want to be disturbed; we are content with where we are. Are we personally guilty of that?
“If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.”
John 13:17 ESV
Oswald Chambers convicted me as I read his devotional message this morning, and as I read he also warned me...
"If you do not cut the moorings, God will have to break them by a storm and send you out. Launch all on God, go out on the great swelling tide of His purpose, and you will get your eyes open." - Oswald Chambers
If we are in spiritual slumps or doldrums, it is usually as a result of not answering God's call. I believe that Oswald Chambers ran headlong into this problem, and that it wasn't until he had faced this as the real problem in his life, that he was able to regain his spiritual vigor. Let’s listen to his words, and apply them in our own lives…
"...you will find it goes back to a point where there was something you knew you should do, but you did not do it because there seemed no immediate call to, and now you have no perception, no discernment; at a time of crisis you are spiritually distracted instead of spiritually self-possessed." - Oswald Chambers
In the Old Testament there were dire warnings regarding a unanswered calls of God, and these were generally towards an entire nation,
“I will destine you to the sword, and all of you shall bow down to the slaughter, because, when I called, you did not answer; when I spoke, you did not listen, but you did what was evil in my eyes and chose what I did not delight in."”
Isaiah 65:12 ESV
But in the New Testament those warnings become far more personal and pertain to a church, or us as individual believers. Take the parable of the great feast in Luke 14 for example. Jesus tells us of a man who was having a great feast but all his guests were excusing themselves for various reasons, so finally he sent His servants into the streets to invite others in for the feast, and he says...
“And the master said to the servant, 'Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.'"”
Luke 14:23-24 ESV
Are we guests who give an excuse when invited to the feast of the Lord? Are we among those who are called but choose not to answer?
“Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.”
2 Peter 1:10 ESV
When we are called and find an excuse to not answer, we need to beware. This is when the taste of lamb leaves our mouth, and the joy of celebration falls from us. I have been through times when I felt spiritually destitute. I have sought God in prayer and yet I just couldn't feel His hand when I grasped for it. In retrospect it was because I had wandered from his will for me... I had neglected to answer His call in my life. But, He had mercy and either called again, or sent a storm to break my moorings... and this time I quickly shouted out "Here I am Lord!" Are you moored in the harbor as I was? Are you rearing up at the starting gate as the race is being run? Are you becalmed on a motionless sea? If so, then pray that God forgives your excuses, and calls again to you. Pray that in His mercy He will visit your door once more; because we are on a spiritual journey, and the voice of the Holy Spirit is all that guides us. Regardless of our calling, we are meant to GO, when called, and not to tarry or make excuses.
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Romans 12:1-2 ESV
“And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.”
Mark 16:15 ESV
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for calling my name. I thank you for reaching out to me when your work needs to be done. Holy Father, I also thank you for those occasions when you have called me multiple times before I finally answered. You could have abandoned me, but instead, you showed me mercy and called repeatedly as I wandered, lost in the night of my faith. Jesus, you called Peter from the boat onto a raging sea and he was afraid... yet he came. He faltered and you had to take his hand, but he came. I pray that I too have the faith and courage to come when you call. I pray that I will feel the exhilaration of taking even those first few steps upon the water, as Peter did, before you must take my hand. Lord, a child takes one step and then two, it falls and is lifted up to try once more, but eventually he becomes a young man and runs with the wind at his back. Father I pray that I always take your hand when I stumble, and that under your tutelage I become fleet footed, and quick to answer your call. I pray that my life becomes a blessing and joy to you as I answer your calling. When the tide is right, and the obedient ships are sailing to distant shores, I pray that you will not find me reluctant to raise my anchor and remaining moored in the harbor of self.
Rich Forbes