Calling

Earlier this week I had an interesting conversation with a young man from North Way about the topic of calling. He is trying to figure out what God is calling him to do with his life, and he wanted to gain my perspective because, he said, "lots of people talk about learning what God asks them to do but they don't actually do it. You seem to be able to hear from God and then you are actually crazy enough to do what God seems to be asking you to do, even if it goes against mainstream culture or what seems rational." I was kind of surprised when he said that, because even though I try very hard to be an authentic follower of Jesus Christ I still still struggle daily to hear God's voice and actually do what he is asking me to do. I drop the ball all of the time, and I miss out on God's purposes. However, I do try to be obedient when I hear from the Lord and as a result I would say that my sense of joy in calling is very strong. When God calls me to act on his behalf, even when it doesn't seem to make any rational sense, the feeling that I get is so strong and overwhelming that if I don't follow through with it I almost can't function in life.

I think all people want to be "real," but this world is often cruel to people who try to authentically follow Jesus so we settle for disobedience and creating elaborate fronts for ourselves that we portray to the world so that we can send the message that we've got this whole life thing under control. The scary truth is, though, none of us are in control of our lives. We're crazy for thinking that we can control things. So why do we even try? Why do we end up being fake people or fake Christians? Why do we miss out on the callings that God wants to willingly give us as we join him on his mission to redeem the world? Because there is an intense spiritual battle going on that we do not see, but it is a battle that keeps us living under control, or in disobedience, or in fear as we go through our lives. The enemy does not want us to discover our callings because we are dangerous when we do! The enemy does not want us to be real, authentic, sold out followers of Jesus because when we live like that we make a huge difference in advancing the kingdom of God. With God, all things are possible! We should not settle for being fake or being disobedient. We are sons and daughters of the Most High God, and every single one of us has the capability of discovering and living out the callings that our Creator gives us out of his amazing love for us. Calling in its most simple form means that we should not just be hearers of the Word, but also doers.