07 Apr Are all called? Are some more ‘called’ than others? How do you know God’s call?
A few weeks ago, I was pondering on this subject of ‘God’s call’ in relation to the many diverse needs in the mission fields and the constant refrain for “more labourers in His harvest” (Mt.9:36-38).
I have my own unmistakable experiences of God’s call, but I asked the question: Within the broad spectrum of the Bible, how do our faith heroes experience and come into God’s call?
This reflection identifies the myths, half-truths, and clarifies some of the truths about God’s ‘Call.’ When Christians understand and commit themselves to God’s call upon their lives, it releases more resources into the larger jigsaw of God’s plans to touch a broken world (and live out our own life purpose).
- God’s call can unfold as a process of deepening dedication rather than as a distinctive event. While some like Paul had a distinctive call (Acts 9:1-19), others deepen into God’s call in a manner more similar to Daniel’s. The book that bears his name nowhere state that God had called him to be a prophet (Dan.1-12).
He was essentially a survivor in a foreign land with a day-job in its governmental service. However, his commitment to maintain loyalty to God at all costs led to a deepening of dedication and intimacy with God. That led to divine revelations through which others recognized his calling as a prophet of God.
- God’s call is often contingent on our responses to needs presented before us. There is no record of God telling Nehemiah to volunteer himself to rebuild the walls in faraway Jerusalem. What we do know is that he was visibly moved and prayed much when he found out about the gravity of the situation (Ch.1). He had a skeletal plan in mind and when the opportunity presented itself, he requested the King to send him to Jerusalem (2:1-7).
The result – he led and rallied the people to rebuild Jerusalem’s broken walls in a record fifty-two days (6:15). Staying on longer than projected – twelve years (5:14) – he was a key in rebuilding the morale and identity of God’s people who had lost their spiritual moorings. Nehemiah’s divine call for that role at that critical season is indisputable.
- God’s call is unto different areas, but each requires dedication because they are part of the whole. The dedication required of those such as Ezra and Timothy who are called to teach God’s Word and to pastor is self-evident (Ezra.7:10; 1 Timo.4:13). No less crucial, however, is the dedication required of other callings.
Integral to God’s purposes are His people in government (Joseph and Nehemiah); business (Lydia in Acts 16:13-15); professionals (Luke the physician in Col.4:14); and ordinary folks like Joseph, Jesus’ earthly father. Their willingness to embrace God’s call made their skills, standings in society, and material resources pivotal in God’s larger scheme of things.
- God’s call draws upon the lived experiences, skills, and positioning that He sovereignly arranged. Growing up in Pharoah’s court equipped Moses with perspectives and skills later crucial to his leadership (Exo.). Through Esther, a young Jewish girl who rose to become queen, the Jewish people were delivered from annihilation during the Persian rule. Esther risked it all because she recognized that she came into her position “for a time such as this” (Est.4:12-17).
- God’s call always requires faith that risks loss. Esther exclaimed, “…and if I perish, I perish” (Est.4:16). Daniel risked the loss of his career and his very life on numerous occasions, and Nehemiah risked the anger of the Persian king (2:2). Faith that risks loss is a consistent pattern for our biblical heroes as they sought to live out God’s call upon their lives.
- God’s call often involves pain and sacrifices, but for a few the pain is long-termed. Joseph went through 13 years of slavery and imprisonment before he became the vizier of Egypt (Gen.37:2; 41:46). He eventually saw the fruits of his integrity and labour in his lifetime.
This was not the case for Jeremiah. He had prophesied of God’s judgements, but his fellow countrymen did not listen. Against his will, they took him to Egypt (Jer.42-43) where he likely spent his final years. He ended up sharing with his people the very fate that he warned against.
- Time reveals the impact of obedience to God’s call. Called by God at an early age to be a prophet (Jer.1), Jeremiah’s ministry was one of rejection and heartbreak. However, his writings became incredibly impactful after his lifetime. They guided and encouraged Daniel (Dan.9:2) and other Jews in exile. Jeremiah’s writings continue to speak to God’s people today.
- God’s call has its ultimate reward is in God Himself. Jeremiah wrote Lamentations after the fall of Jerusalem. At about the centre of the book, he proclaimed, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases… The Lord is my portion” (Lam.3:22,24). This encapsulates Jeremiah’s faith and motivation. The ultimate reward for obedience to God’s call is not in the temporal, but in the person of God Himself.
The contexts, needs and challenges in today’s world are vastly different from that of our biblical heroes. Nonetheless, as we draw from the lessons from the past, they offer us guidance and inspiration in charting the ways forward as we follow Christ and obey His call to make Him real and relevant to a broken world.
Rev. Chan Nam Chen (PhD)
Executive Director