Called to Respond

 

When you hear these words, “You are called to respond”, what is your first thought?

Do you immediately go into hiding thinking, “Nope, not me…I don’t have time for that.” Or perhaps your reaction might be to behave as though it doesn’t refer to you in any way whatsoever, so you simply ignore any notion of a response, or if you do give it a second thought, you think that a response is only required from those who have received a call to go into ministry.

A lot of us think that being called to respond does not apply to us, “Respond to what? That’s for the other fella.”, only for a select few, we can’t even relate to the concept, but this my friends is a common misconception.

We, like Jonah, simply don’t want to carry out God’s will and we don’t want to submit to His leading.

The reality is, we have been called by God to his service and we are all called to respond to that call. And yes, you may say that dismissing it, resisting it, ignoring it, doing all that you can to escape it are all responses but as God’s beloved children that is not how we ought to respond.

What God desires from all of us is our proper response to the call for which we were appointed. 

In chapter one, verses four to ten of Jeremiah we read,

Now the word of the Lord came to me saying,

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.” 

But the Lord said to me,

“Do not say, ‘I am only a boy’;
for you shall go to all to whom I send you,
and you shall speak whatever I command you.
Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you to deliver you,
says the Lord.”

Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me,

“Now I have put my words in your mouth.
See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms,
to pluck up and to pull down,
to destroy and to overthrow,
to build and to plant.”

I am sure you notice some interesting things here…like Jeremiah, God knew exactly what your purpose was before He created you, He sees you bigger than you see yourself, and He will prepare you for whatever He has appointed you to do. He will use you as you are…

It’s so comforting to know that God will call us even when we see ourselves as having little or no value. 

It’s so comforting to know that God will use us even in times of weakness and failure. 

It’s so comforting to know that God will continue to pursue us even when we refuse to respond to His call. 

It’s so comforting to know that even though God can reach the world for Himself, He still desires to use us to do it.

Scripture clearly tells us that we have all been called to proclaim the gospel, all of us have been called to make disciples, and you know what else Scripture tells us? Each one of us is called to love…1 Corinthians chapter 13

Beloved, it is not easy to love but God is love and if we are His, then we must learn how to authentically love. Receiving His love will enable us to give love, for the source of our love lies not in ourselves but in the One who is Love.

And it is in the power of that Love, that our positive response to the call of God lies.

Jesus availed Himself of that Love to selflessly carry out His mission on earth. And in Luke 4:21-30, we see that He did not let the opposition He faced derail His response to purpose.

We must make ourselves available and be ready to heed God’s call whenever and however it comes. 

Today, let us wait expectantly for God’s direction, knowing that He has made perfect provision for our lives and our lives of service through His Holy Spirit.

And when we are called, how are we going to respond?  

Will we close our ears to God’s voice? 

Or will we be like Isaiah who boldly responded with 

“Here I am Lord! Send me!”?

 

 

Shelley Johnson © December 1, 2021