Callings

When I was younger, it was sometimes thought that some people wanted to be evangelists or missionaries only because they lacked the maturity to settle down and do something stable, like getting a real job, or being a pastor.

So, if a young person expressed that he felt called to be an evangelist or a missionary, he was sometimes looked at with suspicion - almost like it showed a character flaw.

But looking back over the years, I reckon it's just as likely - if not more likely - that someone might instead end-up settling down and doing something stable, like being a pastor, when being an evangelist or missionary may actually be his true calling.

Lack of insight. Reluctance to give attention to an inner witness of the Spirit. Lack of encouragement from others. Lack of role-models. Desire for stability. Income. Ambition. Those are some of the reasons I suspect some people who may not really have been called to it have pursued a career as a pastor.

God permits it. He opens doors for them, even guides them to the right church to pastor. Provides for them. Blesses them as much as He can. And there are phases in our lives. But if pastoring isn't a person's true or highest calling, he'll eventually notice a feeling of dissatisfaction - even if he's seen as successful. If his dissatisfaction drives him to seek the Lord, God might then reveal to him what his true calling is.

Maybe it will still be possible for a person to pastor a local church as well. But with some callings it would be impossible to stay. If it isn't really possible and yet he tries to, something's eventually got to give.

It might be his own constitution that starts to show signs of the pressure. Or it might be his relationships which start to feel the strain, if he feels the need to manipulate things around him.

But find God's tailor-made calling for your own life - and things will happen so much more restfully!

God has set forth the apostles last, Paul said, whereas regular disciples were living like kings as a result of the apostles' sacrificial ministries. Being a 'sent-one' might not be an easy lifestyle, but Jesus promised:

"Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's,

But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life"

(Mark 10:29,30).

So ask God, "What do you want me to do?"

And expect an answer within two weeks!