Answering God’s Calling: What does it take?

I’ll bet like me you’ve called someone and had them answer their phone before you even heard it ring. I imagine expressing my surprise to the called friend and hearing them say in response, “Oh, I was expecting your call!”

Can you imagine telling God, “Oh, I was expecting your call.”?

We can expect God’s calling; we even should expect it. And not just one call, but an almost infinite number of calls. I suggest that God keeps the line open to each of us 24/7. All we have to do is hear the call. And listen to its message. And accept what we are called to do! It says in Romans (11:29) that the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

My dental hygienist Lucie told me last week she thinks everyone has their own comfort threshold. Now maybe she meant to say “pain threshold”. However, the more I thought about it, the more I could see that we all have thresholds we do not want to cross — even for comfort. And that comfort may be joy, happiness, pleasure, accomplishment, ease, peace. It’s all too possible that we avoid the “too much of a good thing” condition.

I suggest we are in some ways like buzzards, bats and bumblebees. Just maybe not all at once.

A buzzard, placed in a pen only 8′ long, cannot fly out even though there’s no cover and the sky is wide open. A buzzard requires several yards to run up speed and take off. I suggest when it comes to taking off, to accepting the call from God and enjoying the comfort, excitement, accomplishment of Spirit, we also figure we need a long runway. It may be our need to plan, plan, plan. I procrastinate by making lists. Or maybe we play the “I’ve got to do just one more thing before I can…”

A bat cannot fly from a flat surface. The bat must hang from its feet, be able to release its grip, and experience the motion gravity initiates before it can open its wings and begin to fly. Don’t we often wait for the boost from someone or something before we have the confidence to take on that calling? We don’t want to go it alone (we would never be alone). We don’t want to start unprepared (we have all the preparation we need). We may just choose to hang around.

A bumblebee may be in a glass jar without a lid, wide open at the top. The bee taps and taps and taps against the glass sides. Never looking up. Maybe the bumblebee’s isn’t tunnel vision, but it is a limited view of its capacity. Don’t we sometimes limit our view of what we can do, what we can achieve, where we can go and what we can be?

We are not buzzards. At least we don’t require all that take-off runway. We need only listen for God’s calling. Listen loudly for the Big Signs  When we hear them and when we listen to them, we can soar like the buzzard, thousands of feet in the air at speeds of 60 mph.

We are not bats. At least we don’t need the special boost from someone or something to rev our confidence, our belief in our SpiritSelf. Listen for the tickles and hints and whispers of God’s callings. When we hear them we can navigate flawlessly around all obstacles we may not even see.

We are not bumblebees. At least we do not need the jar inverted to free us. Answer the calling. Look around for the way to accept the greater comfort of spreading pollen which generates beauty and nourishment and life.

James Dillet Freeman encourages us:

Do not settle for little dreams.
God meant you for more.
Spread your wings. Fly on!
Posted on June 3, 2012 at 10:57 pm by Tim · Permalink
In: God, Happiness, Joy, Peacefulness · Tagged with: , , , ,