CHRISTIAN LITERATURE
& LIVING

WHAT IS YOUR RESPONSE TO GOD'S CALL?
Cathy Brokke

WHAT DO WE MEAN BY CALL OF GOD?

Articles and books have been written on the subject of "the call of God." What is a call? The call of God goes out to all people to come to Christ and to receive Him into their hearts and lives. God's call to every believer is to be a witness, to be a fruit-bearer, to serve God, to be obedient, to be holy, and to go into all the world and preach the gospel.

But when we speak of the call of God, we are usually referring to the specific call that comes to a believer concerning the when, where, and how of his life's work.

SOME EXAMPLES FROM THE WORD OF GOD

Moses was called of God for a specific task- to lead the Israelites out of captivity into freedom. But he sought desperately to be excused because of his perceived inability. In Exodus 3 we read that Moses responded to God's call by saying, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?" And in Chapter 4, "What if they do not believe me? Oh Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you've spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue."

Jeremiah also received a specific call form God to be a prophet to the nations, to bring a message from God to the people. His answer to the call of God was that he was inadequate: "Sovereign Lord, I do not know how to speak; I am only a child." (Jer 1:6)

GOD'S RESPONSE TO THEM

God's response to these men was not an attempt to persuade them of their talents, gifts and abilities, but rather a clear statement of His sufficiency and His commitment to them. To Moses, He said,

I will be with you. (Ex. 3:12).

I will stretch out my hand and strike the Egyptians (verse 20).

And I will make the Egyptians favorably disposed toward this people. (Verse 21)

Now go, and I will help you speak and will teach you what to say. (Ex.4:12).

To Jeremiah, He said,

You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them for I am with you. Now I have put my words in your mouth. (Jer. 1:7-9)

God encouraged both Moses and Jeremiah on the basis of His own character and His commitment to be with them, to instruct them, to give them the words to say, and to empower them. Both men responded in faith and obedience, counting on the character and promise of God.

Jesus Himself said,

I tell you the truth. The Son can do nothing by Himself. He can do only what He sees His Father doing, because whatever the Father does, the Son also does. (John 5:19)

I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father taught me. (John 8:28).

For I did not speak on My own accord, but the Father Who sent Me commanded Me what to say and how to say it. I know that His command leads to eternal life. For whatever I say is just what the Father has told Me to say. (John 12:49-50).

The words I say to you are not just My own. Rather, it is the Father living in Me who is doing His work. (John 14:10).

These words you hear are not My own; they belong to the Father Who sent Me. (John14:24).

Jesus was called of the Father to be the truth and to speak the truth, and was so in tune with the Father that He spoke only the Father's words.

GOD'S CALL IS HIS ENABLING

Do we give excuses for not answering God's call to carry out His commission? Someone said, "God's calling is His enabling." God does not call us to do anything unless HE equips us for it.

Oswald Chambers says in My Utmost for His Highest, "When we speak of the call of God, we are apt to forget the most important feature, viz., the mature of the One who calls." To hear the call of God is to know the nature and character of the One who calls and to be so in tune with Him that His will becomes our will. Oswald Chambers goes on to say, "The call of God is not the echo of my nature; my affinities and personal temperament are not considered. As long as I consider my personal temperament and think about what I am fitted for, I shall never hear the call of God. But when I am brought into relationship with God, I am in the same condition as Isaiah.

Isaiah's soul was so attuned to God by he tremendous crisis he had gone through that he recorded the call of God to his amazed soul The majority of us have no ear for anything but ourselves; we cannot hear a thing God says. To be brought into the zone of the call of God is to be profoundly altered."

Isaiah responded to God's call by saying, "Here am I. Send me!" What is your response to God's call?

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