Embracing His Call

I’ve been struggling personally with what exactly is my call and purpose in this life and being at peace with it. It seems mine is quite different from most of my family and those around me and I have a hard time being OK with that. The whole “walk to the beat of a different drummer” type scenario.

Little by little, God has been revealing His purpose to me and helping me to embrace my calling. As I look back on my life, I see where it has been my call for a very long time, just in slightly different forms. Not long ago, I believe God gave me a name for my life’s purpose. My purpose on this earth is to pour into other people. This takes the form of telling them of Jesus Christ, showing love, helping them physically, being a listening ear, a companion and friend, a prayer warrior, and sharing from my heart through the written word.

Currently in my time with the Lord, I am parked in and absorbed with Ephesians. There is so much to take in and to try to understand. This morning as I was reading in Ephesians 2, verse 10 caught my attention:

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works,

which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

The cross reference in Ephesians 4:1-3 spoke to my questioning and struggling heart:

“I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

As a believer in Jesus Christ, I have been called to walk in a manner worthy of that calling. Not doing anything that would offend Christ, only seeking to do what would please Him according to His word. As I read those verses this morning, I had the distinct realization that it was also talking to my particular calling in life. I was created in Christ Jesus to do good works. Works that God had decided for me. A path that He had specifically prepared for me to walk - my personal calling. I am to walk the path of my calling with humility, gentleness, patience, and love. As I walk, I am to exhibit the fruits of His Spirit working in me to create unity and peace. Not comparing my call to someone else’s call, but wholeheartedly embracing my call and walking in it.

Sometimes our call may seem “forced” on us and we find ourselves “kicking against the goads”*. The urge or prodding is there, but we resist. The prodding doesn’t go away, it actually intensifies or we feel miserable because we are not being obedient to it. I know I have been kicking against the writing part of my call. I feel inadequate, fearful, or wonder what I have to say that hasn’t already been said, etc.

From reading other writers’ blog posts and articles, this is a common thought pattern among writers; however, by far the most repeated bits of advice are “just write” and “it hasn’t been said by you”. Even if we’re unsure or don’t think it’s good. Keep writing. So, I’m going to once again try to obey the prodding and this time not get stuck in the perfectionist/fear mode which tends to leave my writings in my notebook or on the computer instead of getting posted. Good, bad, or blah posts are going to go out. Supposedly the more I write the better it will get. Like exercise or sports, I guess. Practice makes perfect…or at least better and if it means I’m walking in a manner worthy of my calling, then that’s the goal. To walk in a way that is pleasing to Christ my Savior and Lord. Ephesians says that God has already prepared the way beforehand, so I don’t even have to cut my own way through the brush. He’s already done that. I just need to follow.

Where do you sense God’s call on your life? Are you walking obediently and confidently down the path that God has prepared for you or are you “kicking against the goads”? Are you embracing your call? I’d love to hear your purpose and how God is working that out in your life. Feel free to leave a comment!

TIP: God’s call will never lead you in a way that goes against His word.

(*If you are not familiar with the phrase about goads, follow this link for a good explanation: http://www.jesus.org/early-church-history/the-apostle-paul/how-did-paul-kick-against-the-goads.html)

A "No Answer"

In a previous post I shared a portion from a talk that Joni Eareckson Tada gave back in 2013. Today I want to share one more portion of that talk and then I'll share the link in the hopes that you will take the time to listen to her story from her own lips. She has much to say to us from her own trial and suffering.

"But while I was there alone, I was alone just with myself and with my Savior and tears streaming down my face, O Jesus, thank You, thank You for a no answer to a request for physical healing.  You really knew what You were doing so many years ago because a no answer to a request for physical healing has purged so much sin out of my life, so much selfishness and bitterness, and I know I’ve got a long way to go, but every day I want to wake up and I want to be a different Joni than I was yesterday, I want to be a Joni that You created, that You’ve destined me to be."

"You really knew what You were doing..." It doesn't happen right away, but given time I hope that all of us who have been or are going through a trial in our lives will come to the point where we can say the same thing and really mean it. I'm not completely there yet. I'm sure Joni did not come to this realization immediately. It was probably a painful journey both emotionally and physically.

None of us want a "no answer" and yet, over and over again as I read different stories, even though God answers "no", He is still there. He is still in control. He still loves. He still gives abundant life. He still has a purpose and a plan. He still gives guidance.

Through my own experience of dealing with my husband's trauma and the difficult years that have followed, I have seen and experienced God's presence, His guidance, His peace, His purging, His pruning. Yes, it's been painful. Yes, I don't understand why my husband hasn't been healed and now lives over 2 hours away from me. Yes, I wish it were different. But at the same time, I don't want to go back to the person I was 4 years ago. God has done a great work in my heart, mind, and emotions. I have learned so much about Him that I probably never would have otherwise.

If you are at the beginning of a traumatic event, give yourself grace and time. Let God minister to you. He is there and desires to hold you. Don't try to go it alone. We were not made for that.

If you are further along your journey, don't give up. God is still there. Wounds take time to heal and thankfully God doesn't prune everything at once. It may feel like it to us, but try to sit quietly at His feet and ask Him what He wants to say to you. Try just one minute of complete silence. Ask Him to help you discern His voice.

You may be wondering "Where's the bright spot in this?"

God's "no answer" in my life has shown me that many of the things I thought I needed or wanted aren't necessary. Even though He had to pry some things out of my hands, God is my bright spot. I've learned that He is not only my Savior and Lord, but my Sustainer, my Rock, my Shield, my Defender, the "lifter of my head" and so much more. He never leaves me.

There is so much peace and freedom in simply being content to sit at the Master's feet and receive whatever He desires to give. I have learned that He is faithful and trustworthy and I don't have to understand everything. I only have to stay close to Him and He will lift my head.

Psalm 3:3 (ESV)

But you, O Lord, are a shield about me,

my glory, and the lifter of my head.

Tip: Let God lift your head so that you can see The Son.

To hear Joni's entire talk, visit https://www.gty.org/resources/sermons/TM13-2/a-deeper-healing.

Eternity

Through a series of small events Sunday, God led me to a great online sermon that had a clip from a talk given by Joni Eareckson Tada. If you don’t know who she is, she is a wonderful witness for Jesus and a quadriplegic. At the time of the recording in 2013, she had been a quadriplegic for 46 years.

She talks about how she desired and prayed to be healed, searched the Scriptures about healing, and how God spoke to her through Mark 1:38. In the preceding verses, Jesus had healed many and cast out demons. The next morning He got up early, found a quiet place and prayed. Simon and other companions found Jesus and exclaimed “Everyone is looking for you!” The assumption is that another crowd of people seeking healing had gathered and was looking for the healer.  Joni found Jesus’ response “curious”. Here’s what He responded:

Mark 1:38 (ESV)

And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns,

 that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.” 

Joni says: “And that’s when it hit me, O did it hit me. It’s not that Jesus did not care about all those sick and diseased people, it’s just their problems weren’t His main focus. The gospel was. The gospel that says sin kills, hell is real, but God is merciful and His Kingdom can change you and Jesus is the way. And whenever people miss this, whenever they just started coming to Jesus to get their pain and problems fixed, the Savior would always back away.” 

Jesus’ priority was to proclaim God’s message of salvation to all, to bring healing to our souls by freeing us from sin and eternal death. 

Luke 19:10 (ESV)

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

If you do not know Jesus as your Savior, please consider the following:

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” – Romans 3:23  

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” – Romans 6:23

- We have all missed the mark of God's perfection. We have all done wrong in God's eyes and therefore we have all earned eternal death (hell). God is holy and cannot allow sin without a payment. Jesus paid that payment in full. God offers us eternal life through Jesus Christ as a gift. A gift cannot be earned. It must be freely given and freely received.

“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” – John 14:6

- Jesus was very clear that He is the only way to gain access to the Father who is God.

“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” – Romans 10:9&10

- Simply say and believe that "Jesus is Lord". This statement gives Jesus authority over our lives and is His promise that we are saved from eternal death.

“For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” – 2 Corinthians 5:14&15

- You can be assured that now you are part of God's family and He will empower you by His Holy Spirit to live a life for Him. A life of joy and abundance.

You can look up these verses yourself in a Bible or online at a site such as https://www.biblegateway.com/. Give God a chance to speak with you.  He loves you and wants to spend eternity with you.  

God has made it very simple for us. It's just a matter of realizing we have done wrong in His sight, ask His forgiveness and believe what Jesus has done to bridge the gap between us and God. The greatest gift anyone can receive is the free gift of salvation. I hope you will search out the truth of Jesus and His great love for you today. A love that lasts for all eternity. 

John 15:13

"Greater love has no one than this, 

that someone lay down his life for his friends."

That's what Jesus did for you and for me. No one loves us like He does - unconditionally. No matter what life throws at us, as believers, Jesus is with us through it all. 

TIP: Don't delay to seek Jesus. It is a matter of life and death.