When your mom or dad calls you to come help with cleaning the house, you listen to them.
While on vacation as a child when you really want to adventure off beyond the big railing that you are obviously not supposed to, your parents make you stop. Now you are upset, but they had a truly loving and protecting reason in why they stopped you.
If your dad is telling you to wash your car because he is the one who bought it for you to drive, you do it because it is actually his and he has the true authority over it.
Sometimes, God calls me to things, and I get so petrified, worried, or mad because that isn’t what I had in mind. It is the funniest thing, actually to think about that. As Christians, that happens to us quite frequently, right? God is tugging us one way, but our body is trying to cut the rope connected to God’s force. The comical part about this is that in so many places in scripture God says, “Do not fear”. Actually, in Isaiah 41:10 it reads, “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with My righteous right hand.”
As Christians, listening to God is truly the safest bet we have. He created every part of us and therefore owns us. There is nobody else that is human that can take care of us or truly provide for us like the Lord can and will. The reason I say this is because today I thought of all the times He has yearned for me to listen to Him in a certain moment or for months, even, but my conscience overruled His direction. As I sit and ponder over all those times where I have said no to God, I wonder what kind of awesome potential there would have been if I would have followed His tug on me. If I would have taken up the call of Christ and stepped into that “worldly uncomfortable area” and been God’s light for someone.
All of this fear, nervousness and anxiety to follow God’s call is a force not from God. He does not put that in our hearts. It is from the worldly standards that we are expected to follow as we live in America, or anywhere on the earth. We are supposed to be independent, live the American dream, have money, stay in our comfy, cozy living room with our 60-inch television and hang on to the job we despise just because it pays so well. Well, if I can get one thing stuck in your head, all those expectations and living standards are false. By false, I am saying that is not what God calls us to. He calls us to completely dive into a relationship with Him, doing all that we can to spread His love in every aspect of our lives. That doesn’t always mean being comfortable. It means listening for His call and following it for His glory.
Hebrews 2:13 says, “But encourage each other daily, while it is still called today, so that none of you is hardened by sin’s deception.” 2:15 goes on and reads, “As it is said: Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”
Fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, we are called upon by the One True King, who sent His own Son to live an absolutely perfect life, then die for us through crucifixion. But, He did not succumb to the grave; Jesus defeated death and rose three days later! This God is the one who calls you. This God is the one who will never leave us nor forsake us, and who will always love us more than anyone else ever can. Take up your call, and follow this God.
