03/05/2025
We don't choose our calling, but we do choose to be obey it. This is our concentration today, and should be one of our greatest fears in following Jesus, and obeying God’s will. In answering a call will we find joy and purpose in serving Him, or will that calling supplant Jesus as the focus of our lives? If we are called out, or away, and given a new direction will we recognize His voice, and be able to let go of what we have allowed to become our life’s mission, and the purpose in it?
I see Moses when I think of this topic. He was reluctant to initially accept his calling, but later he and Aaron lost sight of what they were told to do and it changed their lives. Here is how it all began...
“And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, here am I. Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt. And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.”
Exodus 3:4, 10-12 KJV
Sometimes we lose sight of God and see only the calling that He has given us. Hearing our calling requires listening and waiting on the Lord throughout it. After we have been dutifully performing those things that the Lord has called us to do for some period of time, we can find that we have mistakenly begun to worship what He has asked of us and are neglecting Him? The task has become more important than the reason we were given it in the first place… and sometimes more important than He who’s will it was, and who originally asked us to do it.
When I was young and playing sports, and the coach would put me into the game, I became so focused on doing well and intensely playing the sport that once on the field, or court, I heard nothing around me. I didn't hear my parent's loud cheering from the bleachers, and I didn't even hear my coach shouting instructions from the sideline. When play finally stopped, or the coach sent in a replacement for me, he would chide me by saying "didn't you hear me yelling at you?" But of course, I hadn't, because the game had become more important to me… it had become my ultimate and sole focus.
We are often this way when we have received a calling from the Lord. We want to do exceptionally at what He has asked of us and often become so focused on its execution that we fail to hear Him giving us instructions or changing what we should be doing. Seasoned pastors become attuned to God's voice as He calls them... and also when He calls them out, but even they can become so caught up in the moment and the task at hand that they can miss hearing God yelling "Stand Down!” or giving them new direction.
We have a tendency to see and hear what we expect, or want, to hear. We take the reins of our life or faith and instead of being the player we become our own coach. Well, it's hard to lead yourself when you really don’t know where you are supposed to be going, or teach yourself something that you don't know, and it is the same in faith. God leads and teaches us through what He asks of us, but we must be willing to listen and react to His voice. When we fail in this regard while playing a sport we are pulled out of the game and when we fail God in this way we are removed from our calling, or worse.
“And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.”
Numbers 20:12 KJV
So, when God puts us into the game, it is an opportunity to serve Him, but even in that service we should remain loyal to Him as our head coach, and His Son as our High Priest. We need to listen for His instructions and hear the change of plays or He will pull us off the field. To be successful we have to put the coach’s desire ahead of our own playing and God’s will before our own... we need to be attuned to his voice despite what we feel is happening on the field, or in our calling… we are not the coach, nor are we God or Jesus Christ.
“Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Hebrews 4:14-16 ESV
Like Moses, we can get so focused on what is happening around us that we take the calling to be our primary goal and assume control of it. In fact God is the focus and our calling is just an opportunity to serve Him and do His will. Oswald Chambers recognized this as well, and wrote the following words:
"If you have received a ministry from the Lord Jesus, you will know that the need is never the call: the need is the opportunity. The call is loyalty to the ministry you received when you were in real touch with Him." - Oswald Chambers
Listening for our Lord's voice in not only the comings of a calling, but also the goings, this realization is paramount in our life of faith. Sometimes God has a hard time getting us to start acting on a call that He has prepared for us, but just as often He has a tough time getting us to stop or disengage, or change direction, when His will has been served! We must always listen for His voice and learn to recognize it amidst the din of life... and the intensity of our efforts.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for calling me into your service, and help me to hear your will all the while and each time you call me. Give me the ability to recognize your voice and to listen for it always. Teach me Lord to be still and know that you are God and never let me confuse those things you have asked me to do, with who you are. Holy Father I desire to always be prepared to do whatever you ask of me but let me be equally ready to stop when you call me back. Help me to be still in the quiet times between your callings as I listen for a new word from you. Jesus, speak to me in the silence and teach me to listen for our Father's whispered will... even as you do.
Father God, I thank you for each opportunity to serve you but never let me place what you have called me to do above you. Let me always be cognizant that what was once your most righteous calling can become a false god to me if I place it before you. Let me see that a call to serve you is never about myself, but always about you and your will. Open my eyes to the fact that the success in what you have asked of me can only present itself by my remaining humble, and when it appears to me as unfinished business, or my personal defeat. My success and accomplishments are always subject to your glorification, thus, when I am less you are always more.
When at last I stand before you in judgement I pray that we will discuss how you were glorified by my submission to your will, and how everything you called me to do in my life was not for my personal glory or victory, but yours. I praise your name Father for all that you have allowed me to do for you and I pray that I will be found worthy of spending eternity in your presence. Merciful and full of grace are you my God, and boundless your love for me. Here this my prayer and be pleased with me as I answer your callings. Lord, it is my greatest desire that I love you with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength, and that I remain obedient to your voice always.
Amen
Rich Forbes