Over the summer my church did a series on ‘Calling’ and it totally related to where I am in my World Race journey; my expectations, my anticipations, my worries and anxieties, my excitement!
When we receive our call it’s transforms aspects of our lives, for me it has transformed my relationship with God and my family, my friendships and my connection with church. God has used this calling as a way of building a community of people around me whom I can call upon to partner with me throughout the race. He has begun pushing me out beyond what is safe and secure so that I become more dependent on him.
God’s call on our life is:
1. Stronger than our reluctance
We can be reluctant to following God’s calling; this could be because we fear what we might miss out on or that we could get it wrong. Sometimes we say no to God’s call because we think we have an authority which is above God. But he uses our circumstances and the people around us to encourage, remind and provoke us to our calling.
I first felt called to the World Race in 2011 and as I mentioned in a previous blog I started an application for a route starting in September 2012 but I never completed the application. I was reluctant to commit 11 months of my life to the mission field despite having a passion for mission work. I kept saying if only I was at a different stage in my life.
After going through a difficult break up I started thinking properly about the World Race again, no longer was there anything holding me back. As I started applying I heard about WR Europe which was due to launch in October 2014 the same month my contract at work was due to run out, for me this was the confirmation I needed that God really was calling me to go on the World Race.
Despite our reluctance God can bring us back to our calling.
2. Greater than our weakness
We need to learn to live out of our weakness.
When we have been called by God it is through his power, he believes we can do great things for him and he uses our weaknesses for his purpose. We need to be weak in ourselves so we can be strong in God because God’s strength comes through our weakness.
There have been moments when I don’t think I am the right person for the World Race but time and time again God reminds me that he has chosen me.
Where this has been most evident in my life is with prayer. If you haven’t done so already go and read my blog ‘Get stuck into healing’. God used that situation to increase my faith in him and to increase my understanding on the importance of prayer. A couple of weeks after I was healed through prayer they needed extra women to go and pray for people who had gone up at the end of a service. I felt God nudging me to go up and pray for someone but I’ve never been confident praying out loud, especially for people I don’t know. I also thought that because I wasn’t on the ministry team that I wasn’t qualified to go up and pray. As I was standing there Alex who was leading the service called out my name and asked me to go and pray for someone. In this situation God knew I needed that extra nudge, through my reluctance and my weakness God showed me that his power was in me. He used Alex as a way of affirming to me that I am able and that he wants to use me.
God doesn’t call the equipped he equips the called. As we step into our calling he equips us.
My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness. 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NLT)
For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:10 (NLT)
3. Beyond our expectations
Our calling is much harder but much better than we expect.
Sometimes when we obey God’s call we can be disappointed if it doesn’t turn out as we expected. Sometimes God opens a door temporarily because through that another door opens which wouldn’t be available otherwise. However something much better always comes out of disappointment.
As you step into your calling and meet with God you are able to do so much more. The more you join in with what God has got planned for your life the more you will meet with God.
When God calls you to something it’s a mechanism by which you can get to know him more and have a deeper relationship with him.
