Thoughts on your “Calling”
“Jesus stopped and said, ‘Call him.’ So they called to the blind man, ‘Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.’” Mark 10:49 (NIV)
Push the pause button on your busy world for just a bit.
Consider this…
Have you considered that your highest calling was something you sensed that you are supposed to do?
Have you further considered that your highest calling might be something else… i.e. maybe some place you are supposed to be?
Or…
Have you thought that a “calling” was reserved only for some “special people” or those paid to do ministry.
Yep’… I know the word calling can be complex…
One dictionary definition of calling is “a profession or occupation,” but the one we most commonly think of is “a strong urge toward a particular way of life or career.”
Christians identify God as the source of that strong urge, so the word calling sometimes seems too big for us.
But… let’s take a look at Mark 10:46-50… where Jesus calls a very ordinary man.
“As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means ‘son of Timaeus’), was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’
“Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’
“Jesus stopped and said, ‘Call him.’
“So they called to the blind man, ‘Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.’ Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus” (NIV).
Bartimaeus wasn’t anyone special.
In fact, he would have been considered sub-ordinary by a culture who mistakenly prejudged his blindness as sinful.
That could have been a barrier, yet when Jesus called, Bartimaeus rushed to Jesus’ side.
Bartimaeus didn’t let anything deter him from Jesus’ calling.
So…
Consider…
What barriers or obstacles have kept you from God’s calling on your life?
Sometimes doubt keeps us stuck, wondering if we really heard God or just imagined it.
We can even doubt God would want to use us.
Another stumbling block to calling is self-doubt, feeling certain that someone else is better or more equipped.
Comparison kills calling.
Some of us have let our callings die because of hard circumstances, the voices of naysayers or the diversion of busyness in our day-to-day lives.
Soon…
The dreams we once held dear have faded until they’re fuzzy and distant.
The biggest obstacle to fulfilling our calling is that we often misidentify what our first calling really is.
Our highest calling isn’t what we usually think.
It’s not a job we do, a title we earn, or even a check we write.
Our first calling is to respond to Jesus and go to Him, just like Bartimaeus did.
We’re called to come close.
When we do, Jesus draws us near and calls us His brothers and sisters (Matthew 12:50).
He erases the divide between our humanity and His divinity by calling us friends (John 15:15).
While our faith leads us to accomplish good works, our first and highest calling is simply to be near Jesus.
When we are, everything else… all the doing… begins to fall in place.
Dear Lord… we’ve often confused Your calling for our doing.
Although faith includes action, our first and highest calling is to be near You.
Today… this very day…
We hear and accept Your calling.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Draw Close, He is Near=