What Does It Mean To Be Called By God?

This past week was a big one for All Things New. We found out that both Yolmenda and Herbison passed their graduation exam and are officially high school graduates. This is a huge deal everywhere, but with fewer than 1% of Haitians graduating from high school, this is an amazing accomplishment for Herbison and Yolmenda and we are more than proud of the hard work they put in to make it happen. Even in the midst of unspeakable difficulties, GOD reaches down and shows that He is still in control and He can still make good things happen.

As things continue to be difficult in Haiti, something keeps coming to my mind. A question that has seemingly been asked of me and by me numerous times in just the last few weeks. I think it is a question that many Christians struggle with, and I believe that the vast majority of us do not have to continue to struggle. The question is this:

What Does It Mean To Be Called By GOD?

Have you ever asked that before? There are so many intricacies and different ways to view and tackle this question that it can be difficult to even know where to start. As followers of Christ, we all want to know what GOD is calling us to do, but it can be so difficult to know how to hear and understand that calling. For some, it is even more difficult to follow it.

You have probably heard a pastor or a small group leader discuss this topic numerous times. They may have gone back to Abram being called by GOD, David's ordination as king, the call of the disciples, Paul being blinded, John 8:47, or any other verse having to do with hearing GOD or being called by Him.

I both think and fear that the answer to this question is much simpler than we know. I think it because it seems almost obvious, but I fear it because if what I think is true then we are missing far more than hearing the call of GOD...We are missing a relationship with GOD. Let me explain...

1. GOD is absolutely calling us to something/someone every single day of our lives. So many of us think there is some kind of quest that we have to go on to figure out what GOD wants us to do. Excuse me for saying this, but that is absolutely ridiculous. GOD does call us and prepare us to do great things and sometimes that takes a huge amount of time and preparation. But if you put your life on hold waiting for that, you just might waste your whole life and never do anything for GOD and His Kingdom. Figure out what GOD is calling you to today, and I can almost promise you it is a log greater than what you may think.

2. We need to pray, but we need to use prayer as a weapon and a lifestyle and stop using prayer as an excuse. Stop saying things like "I will pray about it" to things that you should just say "yes" to. In fact, if someone asks you to do something that GOD would do (ie. share your faith, tithe, adopt, open up your home to foster children no matter your age, go on a mission trip, be a missionary, help someone, etc.) assume that the answer is yes. Our default is "I will pray about that" knowing full well that we are not going to pray, and knowing full well that we have already decided that we are too busy or too poor or too unequipped.

3. The Bible is GOD's Word, it is also His calling on our life. Do the things that the Bible tell us to do. Do not pick and choose what you want to do. Do it all.

 - Does the Bible tell you to take care of orphans? Then Do it!

 - Does the Bible tell you to give of your money? Then Do It!

 - Does the Bible tell you to share your faith with others? Then Do It!

The simplicity of what it means to be called by GOD is that it is crystal clear what He is calling us to do. If a 3rd grader sat down right now and read the New Testament, they could tell us what GOD is calling us to do. It is that simple.

The difficulty of what it means to be called by GOD is that you have to give up everything else, change everything about your life that is not of Him, live differently than your friends and family, and make GOD what truly matters.

The bottom line is, let's stop pretending like we don't know what GOD wants us to do. Let's call it what it is...We know exactly what it means to be called by GOD, we are just too busy with things that absolutely do not matter at all to be consumed by the one thing that does.