I have two responses to the issue of "waiting to be called", but I did not
write either. The first is shorter and written by Oswald Chambers. The second a bit longer
and written by my mentor Alfred McCroskey. Both are excellent responses
and both get to the heart of the matter.
Oswald Chambers in My Utmost for His Highest
“I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: ‘Whom shall I send, and who
will go for Us?’ Then I said, ‘Here am I! Send me’ ” (Isaiah 6:8).
God did not direct His call to Isaiah—Isaiah overheard God saying,
“ who will go for Us?” The call of God is not just for a select few
but for everyone. Whether I hear God’s call or not depends on the
condition of my ears, and exactly what I hear depends upon my
spiritual attitude. “Many are called, but few are chosen”
(Matthew 22:14). That is, few prove that they are the chosen ones.
The chosen ones are those who have come into a relationship with God
through Jesus Christ and have had their spiritual condition changed
and their ears opened. Then they hear “the voice of the Lord”
continually asking, “ who will go for Us?” However, God doesn’t
single out someone and say, “Now, you go.” He did not force His
will on Isaiah. Isaiah was in the presence of God, and he overheard
the call. His response, performed in complete freedom, could only be
to say, “Here am I! Send me.”
Remove the thought from your mind of expecting God to come to
force you or to plead with you. When our Lord called His
disciples, He did it without irresistible pressure from the
outside. The quiet, yet passionate, insistence of His “Follow Me”
was spoken to men whose every sense was receptive (Matthew 4:19).
If we will allow the Holy Spirit to bring us face to face with God,
we too will hear what Isaiah heard—“the voice of the Lord.” In
perfect freedom we too will say, “Here am I! Send me.”
Alfred McCroskey's Response
Whenever I speak with Christians about missions (which
has been almost daily for the past 40 years), I usually hear the same
expression (excuse): "I don't feel called." My reply sometimes
goes like this: "I don't either." Surprise, surprise.
And what, pray tell, do I mean by that?
First, I don't rely on "feelings" in my response to God's
Word. There is a place for feelings; God made us with a
capacity for a full range of emotions. But it is very difficult
to understand someone who calls Jesus Christ his or her Lord, when
they respond to a clear command with "I don't feel like it."
Lord, have mercy on my brothers and sisters who don't "feel like"
obeying You.
Second, although I have spent most of my adult life
as a so called "full-time" missionary, it wasn't a call to which I
responded: it was a command by the Lord of the Universe to all His
disciples. When it finally dawned on me Who He was
(Commander-In-Chief) and who I was (a young recruit and foot soldier),
I never doubted that there was any proper response other than "Yes
Sir."
"But He didn't command all of us. Some (most) of us have to stay behind and make a living." Interesting. I know what is meant by that remark and admit to there being some truth in it. What's wrong, is that reply almost entirely misses the point. Look at what the Lord said.
"Go and make disciples of all nations... and teach
them to obey everything I have commanded you." Matthew
28: 19-20 So was he speaking to disciples who lived 2,000
years ago and not to us? Yes, but. What did He
command them to do? They, and disciples down through the
centuries up to and including the present, are to teach us to
obey all that He commanded them. Which was to "Go and make
disciples of all nations... and teach them to obey everything..."
There is no excuse - NONE - for any Christian to
disobey the clear command of the Lord Jesus Christ. If "going"
as a full-time, professional missionary is not God's will
for your life, He will show you what part is yours. Some of
the more obvious positions for support personnel are:
Prayer Warriors
Prayer Warriors and intercessors who get much more
involved than the occasional "Lord, bless all the missionaries."
Financial Partners
Financial partners play an extremely important role in
the battle to extend the kingdom of God to "all nations."
Ministry needs on the "field" are as costly as at the home base.
Volunteer Workers
Volunteer workers are a reserve that helps make the work of those
on the front line
much more efficient and effective.
Mobilizers
Mobilizers in God's army are the "recruiters" who are always
enlisting a fresh supply of prayer, money and workers (full and
part time).
Short-termers
Short-termers are increasingly important in Great Commission
endeavors.
Properly prepared and supervised, a group of short-termers (even
those who go for only 2 to 3 weeks) can accomplish more than
you might think. Over the past 17+ years, my wife and I
(full-timers) have taken with us over 800, short-termers.
We know better than anyone else, how little we could have done
without them.
Everyone who names the name of Jesus, who calls him or herself
Christian, has been "commanded" to be some part of the greatest
enterprise on earth: making disciples, baptizing them, teaching them
to obey.
Where do you serve? Whom do you serve?
Jesus Christ gave the command - not I.
Have you responded? I pray that if your response has been inadequate or
half-hearted that you will repent, plead for mercy, then find your
place and do whatever He tells you to do.
"He who gathers crops in summer is a wise son, but
he who sleeps (or waits for a call or a feeling) during harvest
is a disgraceful son." Proverbs 10:5
"I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields; they are ripe
for harvest." Jesus Christ, John 4:35
Alfred McCroskey
Founder/Chairman of the Board of Bibles for Russia, Inc.
Great
Commission
Matthew 28:18-20
18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All
authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
19 “Go therefore and make disciples
of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
20
teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the
end of the
age.”
These were some of the last words Jesus spoke. They are words
that are directed at all Christians. If you knew you were speaking your last words wouldn't
you speak of important things, the most important things. That is what Jesus did so read
His words and heed them.
Andy Nelms