There were a few key things that helped
make this vacation worthwhile. First, we
were invited to stay at friend’s house, lifting the burden of paying for a
lodging place. Second, the trip was
mostly paid for by this friend, relieving the financial burden a vacation
places on a family. Third, we had no
agenda except to follow the agenda of the folks we were staying with. There were days I laid on the couch for
hours, fighting back illegitimate feelings of guilt because I was not used to
being in a horizontal position while the sun was up.
But think about how awkward it
would have been if I would have called my friend and said, “Hey, we are coming
to visit in a week.” Then, as we pull into her driveway, she peeks out the
window to see us open the hatch of the car and start pulling out suit case
after suit case. As she watches in
amazement, we take our bags into her master bedroom and begin to unpack them.
Then she sees me walk over to her
fridge grab a tub of ice-cream, smile at her and say, “Cookie dough is my
favorite!” and then plop down on the couch, putting my smelly feet up on the
arm rest and as I turn on Judge Judy. (You
may not have to imagine this. You may just need to look over to your couch and
see that family member who should have moved out 20 years ago). If this would have happened, she would have
kicked us out because we were not invited and she was not prepared for us; and
on top of that, we were pushing our agenda and our needs onto her, cramping her
style.
What made our vacation so awesome
was the fact that she initiated the
call for us to come and stay with her, she asked to provide us with care, and
she fed us without us ever asking. What
a blessing.
With the memory of the vacation
so fresh in my mind, I was reading in Colossians 1 and I saw a parallel between
the call I received from this friend to have my family stay with her and the
call we receive from Christ to do His mission.
Colossians 1:25 …”of which I
became a minister (Paul is speaking of his sufferings he is traveling through
for the body of believers, the church) according to the stewardship from God
that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known.
I read that verse several times,
and the question popped into my head, “Does God call an individual to do His
work, or do his children come to him telling Him what they want to do?” In my research, I found that the majority of the
time, God called an individual to a specific work instead of that person
telling God what they wanted to do. Take these characters as examples.
Noah didn’t run up to God and
say, “God, I really want to build a huge boat and look like a fool to my
neighbors”. No, God called on Noah when
the time was right. (Genesis 6:14)
Jonah tried with all his might to
run away from God when he called him to service. He found out through the intestines of a
large fish that when God calls you to something, he will accomplish that mission
through you, if you like it or not (Jonah 1:1-2).
And Saul was on his way to kill
Christian,s when God diverted his path and called him to a new mission, a
mission to convert people to Christianity (Acts 9:15).
There is also the example of the
man with the legion of demons. He told
Jesus he wanted to follow him, but Jesus did not give him permission because it
was not his agenda for the man. Rather, Jesus told the man to go back to his
family and tell them how much God had done for him (Mark 5:18-20).
If those examples are not enough,
how about the individuals who were all called to God’s work by God: King Saul
(1 Samuel 9:16) or King David (1 Samuel 16:1), Esther (Esther 4:14), Ezekiel
(Ezekiel 3:1-3) and the 12 disciples (Mark 2:13-19)
Through these examples, it is
evident that we don’t tell God what we are going to do for him, instead, we ask God what he calling us to. When we approach God with our agenda, we face
the likelihood of being ill-equipped for the job that we want to do. But when
God calls us to a mission, he gives us the specific gifts, talents, and
resources needed to accomplish that mission
Paul showed us in Colossians that
he was given the necessary resources from God to make the Word of God known to
those whom he was ministering to. God
did not leave Paul hanging. God called
Paul to be a minister of the word of God and he equipped him to do so.
When God calls you to something,
he equips you to be successful at it.
The fruit of your ministry may never be seen by you, but God’s plans are
accomplished through you when He calls you to a task.
Maybe you are in a situation now
that looks hopeless. Possibly, God has
placed someone in your life for you to minister to, someone you are revealing
the Word of God to, and yet, they seem closed to you or they are constantly
taking advantage of you.
Don’t lose heart. If God has called you to the task, then he
has given you everything you need to fulfill the task he wants you to
fulfill. It’s ok if you do not see that
person, or the group of people ever turn to Him, just stay faithful to your
call and keep moving forward.
My vacation was a vacation
because of the person who invited me there.
She provided everything my family needed for a good vacation. Likewise, If God calls you into ministry, he
will equip you with what you need to accomplish the ministry. And, if you need to, take a vacation every
once in a while, it just might be what you need to move forward in the work you
are doing.
