Well a lot of you seemed to be impacted by the last post, I have loved your comments and thoughts, so please drop in updates of how processing your weight is going.
This morning my thoughts are more towards the future, towards vision and direction. Have you ever felt the call of God for something? It doesn't have to be towards a career or being a missionary or something like that...God can call us to the most simple or most grand of tasks. There is no doubt that God has calls for you. He might call you to step out in faith in terms of the school you should attend. His call might have to do with a job you will take, or not take. Perhaps His call to you might have to do with a relationship in your life. Whatever the specific call that God has for you in the next season, what I am sure of is that He has a call for you. He is always at work around us and is continually inviting us towards deeper faith in Him, usually by calling us towards something.
The question is what you do with the call. What do you do with the invitation of God into something new? Are you reserved...keeping one foot on tested ground and letting the other test the waters of something new? Do you jump in without any inhabitions? For most of us, I would bet that we hold back our heart from our new adventure. God calls us to something new (whether it is stepping into something new or stepping away from something old), and for many of us, we embrace the call in a half-hearted way. God invites us to the adventure of a school that is different from our plans, and we move some of our actions in that direction...while still emotionally holding on to the plans of the school we had planned on. He invites us into a new adventure in relationships, and we hold our hearts a couple miles away to test the waters and make sure new relationships are a safe bet. He calls us with a career direction change, and we dabble in many different opportunities so that no doors close on us...in case He was wrong.
My most clear memory of this sort of thing has to do with the first college I attended, Georgia State University. The summer before I started college, God called me into ministry. The details around the call are still vivid to me, and I can say without a doubt that God had a direction call for me and wanted me to move in that direction. He didn't ask me to change colleges or anything, but He did want my heart fully invested in His plan. As I started school and progressed throughout the first year, what became clear was that I was investing in my classes and studies with a divided heart. I wanted what God had for me in ministry, but I wanted a good degree also, probably something in business...just in case God's call didn't work out, I wanted something to fall back on. (Now before you start saying "For Shame!" check your own story for things like this). The story goes on, and I don't need to take up your time with what all transpired from there, but I will tell you that God is a jealous lover and will do whatever it takes to get our heart wholly and undivided.
There is a sweet picture in the old testament of this whole-hearted embrace of a call. In 1 Kings 19 we see the call of Elisha, who is called to be a prophet of the Lord. When he is called by God, he is in the middle of plowing. Now I am kind of a city guy, so I really have no clue what plowing is, but I imagine it is something you do with John Deer equipment. Seeing as Elisha probably didn't have any John Deer equipment, I imagine this plowing thing was probably harder than we know. Anyway, Elisha is called by God to be a prophet, and what he does next is an awesome picture for us of embracing the call of God.
The Bible says that Elisha took his yoke of oxen (that he was using to help plow) and slaughtered them (no half-hearted there...those oxen really wont be able to help with the plowing anymore). Then, as if that wasn't enough, he took all the plowing equipment and burned it! And he used the burning pile of equipment to cook the slaughtered oxen as a meal! Then, after all that is done, he goes and starts to embrace the call of God on his life. Honestly, when I read this today, I laughed out loud. Tell me that isn't kind of funny? Home-boy Elisha doesn't just go and embrace his new direction, but he first takes the tools and resources of his old direction and uses them the make some food!
Funny picture, yet inspiring all the same. Elisha went that day with an undivided heart. He didn't create back-up plans in case God didn't work out. He jumped fully into the call.
I don't know that anyone reading this has any actually oxen to slaughter or equipment to burn, but I am interested to hear your thoughts on the ways you personally are working to be undivided towards God's call.
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4 comments:
I really liked this post, Cory. I had a similar call my senior year of college - when I was almost finished getting my degree, God finally showed me what He wanted me to do. I didn't pull an Elisha or anything and burn my books or eat an ox...but I did begin to look into different programs to start pursuing what God did want for me. I have had a lot of people ask me why I don't go to school full time, but I think God is using this time to grow me in a lot of areas and prepare me for this future. By getting my current job, I also realized I had a heart for children and am now serving in the children's ministry. I don't think I ever would have tried it before working for Children's b/c kids just seriously intimidated me. So, yeah...good thoughts.
Cory! You're in my head :D
It's tough to throw all caution to the wind and chase after a calling, even if you know it's God's will for you. What PK said Sunday really hit me too...that our salvation is a funeral for OUR will. I'm one of those that has to hunt down and kill my own will on a daily basis! :) Though I intelectually know that God's will is perfect, I still believe that the "practicality" of my own will makes more sense. It's a frustrating thing to know and want to do one thing, but feel like you have to do another. Either way I'll continue to fight for obedience to the call God has placed on my life. It's a source of hope that where I am and what I'm doing now is not all there is for me.
It's tough to let go of something you have planned out in your head to let God take control. Why is that? For me, I think this new season of life for me will be a learning experience on something I don't know yet. I would like to meet this Elisha character and understand how he could just give up so much.
Cory.
In order to comment with full honesty, I have to confess that I had not read these last two blogs until now. I am so glad I finally did.
You write well, and with more focus than I can usually muster. I get bored of topics after a couple of paragraphs, but I feel like your audience benefits much from your willingness to explore the many tiers and layers of what's going on inside of you.
The running blog is just so good. So relevant to so many people, myself included. You have wonderful perspective, Cory, and a gift for knowing your heart well, and getting it down on paper. Or webpage.
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