Answer the Call

“Was David afraid when he fought Goliath?” This was the question posed. I had never thought about it, so I listened intently to the response. The conclusion was that perhaps David was afraid because, “When God calls you to do something, courage is stepping beyond your fear.”

When God calls, it is rarely to do something within the realm of comfort. It is a call to come higher. A call to step out on uncertain waters. He bids us, “Come,” upon the crashing waves.

As I read the Bible, the various accounts so often overlook human emotion. Scripture is filled with individuals who were called by God to do extraordinary things, which make them seem beyond human response. However, they were men and women “subject to like passions as we are” (James 5:17, KJV). 

Abraham, for example, was called to leave his home and travel to an unknown land. Uncharted territory was his future. Estrangement from family and friends was his next step.

I often wonder if he grieved. Did he wish for another way? I’m sure he was excited about the promises that God had given him, but was he also terrified? What uncertainty! Of course, he knew God would be with him, but he was still just a man. He was called upon to leave everything behind. It was like a death. It was unlikely that he would ever see anyone that he cared about, beyond the ones who traveled with him, ever again.

Years later, God made another call to Abraham, but this time a bit more was required. Abraham was to give up the promise from God that he had waited decades for. When I read it in scripture, he seemed calm and ready to do it, but was his heart heavy? Hebrews 11:19 says that “Abraham reasoned that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again…(NLT)” It’s clear that he trusted God, but God was asking for a great sacrifice. Surely, in his most human moments, he worried that he may be wrong, and that God was going to take the promise from him.

God called Gideon, but Gideon, in his humanity, was fearful. He was uncertain. He let it be known that he didn’t feel able to complete the task at hand. He was uncomfortable with what God was asking him to do. However, he did ultimately respond with obedience, and God won a victory through him.

God made a call to a rich, young ruler, but the young man couldn’t say, “Yes,” to that call. He loved his possessions and couldn’t see the immense blessing of the tradeoff. He chose his way above the Master’s.

Matthew 10:38-39 “If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine. If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it (NLT).”

When God calls, we may be afraid, nervous, uncertain, even grieved by what he is asking of us, but if He’s the one making the call, we can be certain that He will provide all that we need.

Sometimes, in order to answer the call, there must be a death in us. Like Jesus in the garden, screaming, “Not my will, but thy will be done!” and “If it’s possible, let this cup pass!” Jesus knows what it is to not want to answer the call, but because he did do what was asked of Him, we have a way into the presence of our holy God, we have an advocate with the Father, and we have the opportunity for remission of sin through baptism in His name. What joy, peace, and love has come from His act of obedience!

When we obey and answer the call from God, great things can happen, and many can be blessed by our sacrifices, which is our reasonable service.

I read a quote that said, “Obeying God is easy until He tells you to let go of something you want to keep.”

We’re not required to like what He’s asking of us, but we are required to obey, and it certainly helps if we just trust that He knows what He’s doing. 

When we first hear the gospel, and a seed is planted, it’s as if we are placed in a little seed starter pot. We develop into a nice little plant, but then, the Gardener calls us to a deeper place. We can resist the changes God is asking us to make, but if we stay where we’re at, and we don’t heed the call to move, we will eventually die, or we will stay exactly as we are, stunted and bearing no fruit.

The plan that God has purposed for our lives can not be reached if we remain in the seed starter pot. We were never meant to remain there. It was intended as a starting place. As we continue to grow, God continues to call us to deeper places. With each call, we become uncomfortable, feel exposed, perhaps inadequate or afraid, but as we continue to say, “Yes,” when he calls, we grow.

We can not be fulfilled in our walk with God unless we are responding to the call of God in our lives because we were designed for a purpose in His kingdom. He moves us and makes adjustments, not to harm us, but to bring us to an expected end. Our job is to trust and to obey. Comfort is not the goal, it’s simply obedience.

So many in the word of God had a choice to make: remain comfortable, or take the step. Abraham, Moses, Gideon, David, Esther, Noah, the prophets, the apostles, and many more could have remained in their comfort, but instead, they heeded the call and walked in uncharted territory to the glory of God.