Every Christian is called to live out the first and greatest commandment (Matthew 22:34-40) of wholehearted love for Yahweh/Jesus so this is an invitation for you to work out what that looks like in your life. It’s not an invite for you to be a good little Christian who fits into the same old same old cookie cutter. Nor am I here to inspire you to do something big and crazy. Instead, it’s a call to extravagant devotion to Jesus as you walk out faithfulness in the little things…right where you are…and enjoy watching those little things turn into a lifetime (however long that may be) poured out in love.
When we think about being called by God to do some great work it’s easy to assume that that work will take a person far from home…
Cause them to do something they never imagined or even wanted to do…
And at the very least it demands some huge life change…
And it does for some people.
So does that mean the rest of us “ordinary” folks aren’t called by Jesus?
OR…
What if it mean that our calling simply looks different?
WHAT IF…
Your Kingdom assignment/calling means having to change a few simple things in your schedule?
Or that you’re going to be more emotionally and mentally stretched even though very little needs to change externally in your life?
And what if it means doing something you absolutely LOVE? (this is a pain point for many Christians who have it in their heads that if it’s really for God then it has to be a sacrifice and therefore, a lot of hard work…and not enjoyable work at that)
So, how do you say yes to what is on your heart to do for Jesus?
Well, whether you know what that thing is or not…
Here’s how the most ordinary Chrstian can can do the “BIG” call of God…
You learn to do all the little ones along the way.
You know, the small and easy to ignore things like…
- Reading your Bible regularly
- Inviting that friend over who’s been having a really hard year for a good heart to heart conversation (even though you don’t know the right things to say most of the time)
- Interacting with people who live on the street in a different way as you intentionally ask Jesus for His heart for them
- Gossiping less and praying for people rather than judging them
- Making the space in your schedule to volunteer at those places that keep coming to your mind
- Asking God for what’s on His heart and inviting Him to change you
- Etc.
These small things (just to list a few) tend to change a person in huge ways and they have a way of making you ready to say yes to the bigger things.
Which is an important point I want to make…
God is not a lottery machine.
You may have heard that people who win the lottery tend to go on to be crushed under the weight of all the sudden wealth.
They took the time to buy all the tickets but never took the time to learn how to handle money well…
So when they finally won, all that wealth did more harm than good.
When it comes to our relationship with Jesus…
It’s so easy to fall into the trap of thinking…
When I have time then all of a sudden I’ll be able to read my Bible…
Or I don’t know what He wants me to do but when He calls me then all of a sudden I’ll say yes and go wherever He leads.
The heart behind this way of thinking is full of good intentions but the reality is…
If you’re habit is to do nothing…
Then that’s what you’ll do even when the perfect opportunity is right in front of you…
Nothing.
You either won’t recognize the opportunity or you won’t be physically or emotionally ready to do it.
You see, the way any Christian does something big and amazing for God is by doing the daily seemingly insignificant things…
Right where they are…
Because those acts of faithfulness to Jesus have a way of getting their heart in the right place.
Most Christian women are called NOT to go somewhere else…
Nope…
Instead they’re called to stay right where they are and do what God is inviting them to do…
Or what is on their heart to do for Him out of genuine love and relationship with Him.
When it’s real then you end up being motivated by love rather than obligated by guilt.
That said, I do want to share an example of what this whole situation looks like in real time.
I’m really not a facebook person but years ago when I was on facebook I asked a question…
Something about wondering what people would really love to do for Jesus.
Someone in a group had replied that they would love to be a missionary in a certain country but their life as it is pretty much ensures that won’t be happening any time soon…
If ever.
Now, I’m not wanting to talk about her specifically but it brought up something I often see…
Which is that a lot of Christians have something on their heart that they would love to do but it feels so impossible…
That they end up not doing anything at all to make it happen.
They so strongly believe that even though they have the desire to “go”, they don’t have the means…
And therefore it will never happen.
This post is about saying yes right where you are but let’s stick with the missionary example a moment longer…
So how would someone who wants to be a missionary in another country set themselves up to say yes when the opportunity presents itself?
Well, they can…
- Actively pray for that country
- Ask God to send missionaries and that they could be one of them
- Get linked in with the missionaries who are there
- Support those current missionaries financially
- Keep the conversation going about what you could do to move there
- Learn the language
- Etc.
There are so many things a person who wants to be a missionary can do long before they ever get out on the field…
And taking those small steps says a lot about how much you trust Jesus’ timing and leadership.
But since this blog post is about embracing God’s calling right where you are (since that’s most of the Christian population around the world)…
Here’s an example of someone who knows they’re called to be a singer and musician.
Let’s say this person has the really strong sense that they’re singing and song writing is going to bring them to a more public rather than private stage…
but because they don’t currently have a public place to sing, they’re not doing anything to work towards it.
For this person, there’s a really good chance that whenever a public stage or invite comes their way…
They won’t be ready in any way shape or form to say yes to that opportunity.
So what would little “yes’s” look like for them?
- They could start singing before God alone
- They could take a voice course
- And add on a music course for whichever instrument they play
- They could write their music and ask God to increase their skill
- They can do the work of stretching themselves to be comfortable singing before God alone so that when a public stage comes – they’re forever and always before an audience of One
- Etc.
There’s a beautiful example in King David’s life when He was inspired (not called) to build Yahweh a house…
Which Yahweh then told him he couldn’t build but that His son would.
What did David do in response?
He could have easily been bitter, sulked and done nothing…
But instead, He did everything besides build God’s house.
He got gold, he lined up singers and musicians, workers and materials so that when the time came…
Everything would be ready.
The point is – Don’t worry so much about what’s still out of reach right now and instead figure out how to be faithful with everything that IS within your reach…
Don’t worry about what you can’t do and instead do everything you CAN do…
because Jesus is worthy and worth it.