Listen for Your Calling

Oh Lord our God, come down and dwell within us this day. Allow us to show the grace that you have given to us. To represent the love that you have bestowed upon us. To carry your glory to the ends of the earth and reveal it to your other children that need to hear the gospel preached. We pray for help in our endeavors today. We pray that you would strengthen the body of Christ to help it become more as one, and less as many. That it would truly become a body, and not a people. May we take your word and proclaim it by your power. In Jesus name, Amen.

Have you ever done something really awesome for God? Something really monumental that you pursued? Maybe it was a missions trip; maybe it was an organization you were trying to start; maybe it was an opportunity to teach that you took a hold of; maybe it was the encouragement of a brother or sister in Christ. All christians should take on something to pursue for Christ's sake, whether it's a missions trip or an encouragement of a brother or sister. My next question is have you ever had it fail? Have you ever begun a work for God that you felt called to and it collapsed on top of you one brick at a time? Yeah? So have I.

Why does this happen? Why would God call us to something and then that calling, when we pursue it, completely fails? God is not a God who likes to trick people, is he? He doesn't just want to keep us busy, right? No, he is not trying to trick you nor is he just trying to keep you busy. The first question to be asked when we began pursuing something for Christ is "is this the will of God?" Well how does God answer this question? Because the rest of our whole journey in pursuing God rest on the answer to this one question. If it is the will of God, it will happen, if it isn't, it won't. This is the one question that needs to be answered. So how does the Christian listen for this answer?

When it seems that God is calling us to a work for Christ, how do we discern whether or not it is the calling of God upon our life? We discern by doing, not by waiting. We discern by continuing in our walk of faith until we are either so pulled by God to that one thing that we can no longer resist the pull and must act, or we are so pushed away from it that we have no choice but to not pursue it. When we feel God may have called us, continue in your walk of faith, serving God daily, staying in the word daily, and keep the possible calling in your prayers. As you go throughout your daily life, you will be either called to it more strongly by the power of God through his word or called to other things to pursue for God. The latter situation can be hard to discern because people like to take the easy way out. They like to say "Oh, God isn't calling me to that", but only say such a thing if the other path you have chosen to take is a stronger calling for Christ's sake. For example, if you feel called to start a church somewhere, but you would rather sit on the couch and eat potato chips your whole life, the latter is not a decent excuse to not start a church. But if you feel called to start a church somewhere, and then later, God seems to lead you to pastoring an already existing church, the latter option is more than acceptable to pursue. In other words, do not use your laziness as an excuse. Pursue that which God has called you to.

Listen to God when you feel a potential calling upon your life. My brothers and sisters, I urge you, do not be hasty in deciding what you will do, but do not be lazy as you are trying to decide. Continue in the faith, serving God and walking with him daily, but do not sit back and do nothing waiting for his audible voice to get you off the couch. God is an active God for an active people and we should respond to him actively. May we, the body of Christ, be encouraged and strengthened daily by the power of God and may we clearly hear is calling on our lives.

"The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord. All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirit. Commit your works to the Lord, and your plans will be established." - Proverbs 16:1-3