Running is Not Okay
I’m going to say something that might not go over well with everyone: Purposefully denying God’s call on your life is never okay.
God gives us callings like beautifully wrapped gifts under the Christmas tree we all just put away for the year. Unlike many of those gifts, these are meant to be used to the fullest extent and to the best of our ability in Christ.
We have an obligation to fulfill when we know what God’s called us to do with our life. He doesn’t call us lightly, without risk.
But, as I’ve mentioned in previous posts here, our loving Father didn’t give us spirits of fear that run and hide each time an opportunity to step into our calling presents itself.
He gave us a spirit that walks freely and boldly in faith, unafraid of the future and never allowing worry or fear to hold us in their grip.
Before we were in Christ, it was much simpler. Our ignorance kept us in the dark, just far enough away to be deaf to God’s voice and call on our life.
But after salvation became part of our story the excuses end there because that’s exactly what fear is to the people who follow Christ.
Fear is an excuse to back out of God’s plan, to avoid the spotlight, to keep the boat still in the water, to maintain the status quo; all of which are hardly ever part of God’s plan.
The gospel speaks of an extravagant love so radical it changes us to our very core. We can’t keep it to ourselves.
Even when Jesus performed miracles instructing the recipients of His grace not to tell others, they couldn’t hold back. It was the one command they couldn’t follow because to do so would mean depriving others of the transformation they had experienced.
When we have a true, genuine experience with God, with I am, with Immanuel our hearts are forever changed. There’s no going back.
It may not be the kind of radical transformation Paul experienced on the road to Damascus, blinded by God’s glory and dropping his crusade against the early Christian church immediately.
Our transformation of heart may be slower paced, but a change has occurred, nonetheless. A change that few people can walk away from.
God begins the slow, arduous work of chipping away at our hardened hearts and the walls we’ve buried it behind long before we truly see His transforming power in our lives.
God never gives up on us.
God never gives up on you or me.
God never gives up on your brother, mother, co-worker, or friend.
God pursues us with a reckless abandon and wild love all the days of our life, not only for us to experience salvation and the open heart it brings, but to step into our role in the kingdom of God.
Each person has a part to play, a role designated to them by the Lord, a role He always intended specifically for you.
God gave you unique talents for a reason.
He didn’t just give you skilled hands to paint a beautiful work of art, to write the next Harry Potter series, or to design the first substation using only renewable energy. God does all things with a goal in mind.
The Creator of all things gave you skills and talents to put you in exactly the right place to bring the gospel to those who may never hear it otherwise, even if that is only a single person.
Running away from our calling out of fear or pride never turns out the way we want it to. Take Jonah as an example.
Jonah’s pride kept him from stepping into God’s call to bring the gospel to Ninevah. He ran away, but God didn’t let Jonah skip out on his calling.
Instead, God sends a big fish to swallow Jonah and deliver him straight to Ninevah, after giving him some time to think over his decision to run.
There is work to be done for each of us in the kingdom of God, and frankly, there is too much at stake for us to run and hide from our calling.
