PREPARING FOR GOD'S CALL

The biblical pattern to the process of calling begins with a season of preparation. 

Moses spent forty years of preparation in the desert before God called him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. David served as a shepherd and a solider between being anointed as the future king of Israel and actually ascending to the throne. Esther served King Xerxes faithfully for five years before she had the opportunity to ask his mercy for the Jewish people. Jesus spent three years preparing his disciples for their eventual commission. 

Sometimes we know we are preparing, such as when someone attends graduate school while waiting on clarity for a job. And sometimes we don’t know we are in a season of preparation; it is only later that we might realize that God had been preparing us all along for something down the road. 

Wherever you are in the season of preparation, whether or not you are even aware of that preparation, you can be assured of two truths: 

1. First, God is always at work. 
2. And second, God never wastes anything. You may not be able to see the big picture, but God does. 

This season of preparation should be a two-way street. As God prepares us, we can ready ourselves for his calling. 

The best place to start is by developing a posture of submission. 

Jennie Allen writes, 

“99 percent of being in the will of God is being wholly willing to be in the will of God.” 

And as Claude Hickman notes, 

“We cannot expect to get all the detailed instructions before we are willing to begin walking the path."

In addition to developing this attitude of submission, are you being obedient to your general calling to follow Christ, and to your existing commitments and responsibilities? 

The discovery of any extraordinary calling begins with ordinary obedience to what God has already revealed. Often, our calling is just to be faithful to our everyday responsibilities. 

“It is our duty to do our duty,” 

writes J. Oswald Sanders. By taking care of our current commitments, we develop patience, humility, and a heart of submission: all necessary preparation for whatever God may have in store for us.

Questions: 

• How are you developing a posture of submission and obedience to God’s calling?
• As you look back, how has God prepared you for your current calling or season of life?