Pursuit of The Call

I have been thinking a lot lately about the importance of us pursuing the call that God has placed on our lives.  Some feel a call to ministry (pastors, worship leaders, etc.).  Others feel called to a specific vocation in life.  Still others find themselves wishing they knew what their “call” was in life.

First, we must recognize that we are all called.  Some of us will take a job as doctors, lawyers, teachers, pastors, politicians, builders, missionaries…the list goes on.  No matter what our job is, we are called to (1) SERVE and LOVE JESUS and (2) SERVE and LOVE PEOPLE.  No matter what your occupation is, if you are a Christian - YOU ARE CALLED.

But for those who feel a call into full time ministry I want to encourage you with this thought: if you have been called, START NOW!  Don’t think you can wait for a diploma, a credential, or something else to further validate your call.  Start walking in that calling now.  If you are called to be a missionary, see your high school or jr. high, or work place as your mission field.  Don’t make the mistake that someday you will just be able to flip a switch and start operating in the calling.  To walk in your call will take a lifetime of preparation.  And God has been preparing you for it since the day you were born!

When we say “Yes” to the call, it means saying “No” to other things.  The truth is that fulfilling the call does not always come with convenience.  Often the easiest path wont bring you to your destiny.

Consider what Jesus said:

Mark 8:34 (NLT)

34 Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me.

In the NIV version of this verses it says “…you must deny yourself…”  Part of us walking in the call that God has for us is learning to put what we desire aside so that we are able to fully accomplish His desires.  Not always easy to do…but always worth it!  Jesus called the people to take up their cross and follow.  The call is a call to follow His direction, His leading and ultimately His desires - not our own.

No matter what you feel called to in life - start now.  Don’t wait for a more convenient season…because it probably will not arrive.  And most important, remember that (ministry or not) you are called to love Jesus and love people.