Your Personal Most High Calling from the
Most High God
Barbara Henderson
Have you ever known someone who had a
passion to get something done? Maybe it
was your mom who had a passion to get supper on the table on time. Maybe it was your mom who had a passion to
have food to actually put on the table.
Maybe it was your dad who had a passion to never be late or miss work
unless he was having his appendix removed.
I guess you could start with little passions and then move on to big
passions. Of course, if someone doesn’t
have a passion to get their seemingly small jobs done, the thankless jobs which
take up so much of someone’s time, then they won’t have a passion to get
anything big done either. You could call
a passion to get something done a calling.
Christians look for a calling from God to do something like preach or
become a missionary. But is there
more??? Yes! God calls people to do all sorts of
things. Here’s how you find your calling
FIRST, and without any doubt or
slackness, you live your life in obedience to God’s instructions given to you
in the Bible. This means you have to
actually know what the Bible has to say about things in general and things
specifically. Part of obedience is to
study the Bible. Read it yourself. Listen to sermons by godly pastors. Here’s a big hint. If a pastor spends most of his time on
telling you how to be successful materially and feel good about yourself then he
is not a pastor worth your time. Erase
him from your friend list! Actually,
obedience is the first and most important calling of all Christians. To refuse to answer the call to obedience
would be like someone wanting to operate on your brain without ever going to
medical school. That ‘wanna-be’ surgeon
might actually be called into medicine, but he/she is called to go through
years of training before actually being qualified to operate on anyone’s
brain. I want to state one more time –
you personally are called to obedience.
Peruse obedience with a passion.
Pray for a greater desire to be obedient to God’s instructions.
Second, do the things you know to
do. Be kind to people. Treat other people the way you want to be
treated. And do your duty to God, to
your family, to your church, to your job, and to your country. Delight thyself in the Lord. Ask Him for a passion to know Him better and
draw closer to Him in all that you do.
If you have time for a five second prayer that is the prayer to pray
unless you are about to fall off a cliff or get run over by a truck. In that case ‘help!’ is the best prayer to
pray. The point is that God is with you
everywhere every second. Don’t put off
talking to Him until you can manage that ‘hour of quiet time with the Lord’. If you can pull that off – good for you. Time in God’s word is very important. But, having a continual prayerful attitude is
equally important. It is your duty to
draw closer to God if you are a Christian.
If you don’t care to draw closer to God then it is time to question
whether you are actually a Christian or someone who is following along for a
time.
Doing your duty is very often a most
thankless task! People take your for
granite, pile extra work on you, and completely ignore the things you
accomplish. Do your duty anyway.
Next look at what you want to do. What is in your heart that won’t go
away? It may be something big. It may be something that costs a lot of
money. It may be to do something that
costs practically nothing. Probably the
most common three things that people think of when they think of a ‘calling’
are becoming a preacher, a teacher, or a doctor or nurse. My oncologist is a Christian man. I know he was called to do what he does. He cares about his patients. The nicest thing I have heard anyone say
about him was from a young woman whose husband had lost a three year battle
with cancer. She said Dr. Ye fought
through the entire illness like a tiger, and then comforted her more than any
other person when her husband died. She
said, ‘What a calling he has. There is no one in the world like him.’ It is easy for me to see him as a good doctor
since I am doing so well, but for someone who lost her husband and the dream of
a family they wanted to have together still praising the man says something
special about the man. He definitely has
a calling from God.
Christians especially need to stop
making career choices based on what will make them the most money. They need to make choices based on what God
is calling them to do. It is true that
often being self-supporting requires a job that isn’t exactly related to your
calling, but that doesn’t mean you should give up your calling. The Apostle
Paul was a tent maker. I find that
fascinating. He wrote so much of the New Testament, he started churches, he
counseled people, and he still had time to make tents. He also found time to
get himself beaten, thrown in jail, stoned, and brought up before Caesar. Some people are high energy people. Others like me were never high energy on the
best day of our lives. But there is
something about a ‘pressing matter’ that encourages you to do whatever it takes
to get it done. I am not talking about
staying up all night to beat that video game. I am talking about something
worth doing! It may be something
great. It may be something small. But,
it really needs to be done, and you are the one with a passion to get it done.
If you are actually a Christian your
life long calling is to glorify God and please Him by your actions. Within the boundaries set for your life by
the Bible, you are free to follow your dreams.
Let’s say for instance that you are
called to preach. That is an easy one.
Within that calling will be many smaller callings. There should be a passion to study the word
of God. There should be a passion to
teach others what you have learned through Bible study. There may be a passion
to grow a church. There may be a passion
to start a church. There may be a
passion for a radio ministry, a television ministry, a bus ministry, a missions
support team, and many other things within your main passion. The passion that must never change is the
passion to please God and grow closer to Him.
The same person may be involved in all of the above, but it won’t happen
all at once. You may be called to start
a business. There will be many aspects
of growing a business. It starts small and over time different things are
added. Whatever the case, don’t be
impatient. It won’t all happen at once
regardless of what your calling may be.
I want to mention here that a high calling for women is to be a godly
wife, mother, and eventually grandmother.
If that is your calling then go for it.
Don’t let the world belittle you for your choice. It is true that the hand that rocks the cradle
rules the world. Children are message
parents send to the future. Women are
free to choose not to get married, and not to have children. Just don’t be
pushed into doing what you don’t feel called to do.
Every passion or calling in the life
of a Christian begins the same. We are
called to please and glorify God by our personal actions. That is a passion without end. But within the confines of pleasing God your
options are limitless. What do you want
to do? What do you love to do? What do
you want to try to learn to do? Is there
something that stays on your mind?
When something is staying on your mind
I have a very good way to begin checking to see if it is from the Lord. Every
single time it comes to you mind instead of thinking about how to get it done
or how much good it would do simply pray about it. A short prayer is good. Just pray something like, ‘Lord if this is
from You make a way for me to begin and help it to stay on my mind. If it isn’t from You, help me to forget it.’ You will be surprised at how many wonderful
ideas you forget all about before a week is over, much less an entire month.
If an idea stays with you over time,
then the prayer changes to , ‘How do I start?
What do I do first? And PLEASE
don’t let me jump in front of You Lord. I know Abraham and Moses got in a hurry
instead of waiting on You and had dire consequences for themselves and their
family. So, while I do want to do what You want me to do, help me to wait on
You to get things started.’
Nehemiah is the go to guy for an
example of someone who prepared for a task but waited on the Lord to get things
started. Nehemiah was faithful to do his
job, but he made all the plans on what he needed to do and the materials he
would need to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
When the opportunity arose he asked the king for everything
necessary. His list of building
materials was massive, and he was not shy about listing everything when he got
the opportunity. He didn’t start a
building program on his own. He waited
on the Lord. We should not start a
project on our own either. The Lord will
open the doors He wants opened on the day He wants them to be open. Abraham and Moses had plans for good
things. Abraham even had a covenant with
God, but both men stepped in front of God through impatience. There is a time to continue praying. Then there is a time to continue praying and
planning. God will give you a boost
forward when the time is right.
In the meantime faithfully do your
duty to glorify God in all that you do. Ask God for a passion to get even your tiny
tasks done in an excellent manner.
Remember the one who is faithful in little is made ruler over much. There are going to be failures along the way
whatever you do. I read somewhere that
‘everyone is a failure until they are a success’. That is funny, but it is also true. Whatever you are doing, even if God is with
you completely, there are going to be difficulties. Don’t make the mistake of judging God’s hand
in a matter by its immediate success or failure. Nehemiah went through many difficulties with
people who opposed rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem after God provided the
resources and time for him to take on the project. If he wanted a continual string of ‘omens’
from God that he was doing God’s will he would have given up quickly.
And there you have it. Commit your life to obedience to God. Ask Him for a passion to actually be
obedient, and to open your eyes to see what He wants you to do.
God bless you.
All the Way My Savior Leads Me
- All
the way my Savior leads me,
What have I to ask beside?
Can I doubt His tender mercy,
Who through life has been my Guide?
Heav’nly peace, divinest comfort,
Here by faith in Him to dwell!
For I know, whate’er befall me,
Jesus doeth all things well;
For I know, whate’er befall me,
Jesus doeth all things well. - All
the way my Savior leads me,
Cheers each winding path I tread,
Gives me grace for every trial,
Feeds me with the living Bread.
Though my weary steps may falter
And my soul athirst may be,
Gushing from the Rock before me,
Lo! A spring of joy I see;
Gushing from the Rock before me,
Lo! A spring of joy I see. - All
the way my Savior leads me,
Oh, the fullness of His love!
Perfect rest to me is promised
In my Father’s house above.
When my spirit, clothed immortal,
Wings its flight to realms of day
This my song through endless ages:
Jesus led me all the way;
This my song through endless ages:
Jesus led me all the way.
