Following God's Lead in His Calling for Your Life
Have you ever been in a place in your life where you felt God was telling you to do something? This week, we will have a real conversation about things that hold us back and someone in the Bible who found themself running from what God called them to do.
FAITH
Dani Fielder
7/21/20265 min read
I can think of a number of times in my life, personally, that I felt God calling me to do something that I really felt I had no business doing. Sometimes I felt unqualified, or like I didn't know where to start, or maybe simply like the idea was too big for me to fulfill. I believe this is a common feeling that many Christians have faced, and this is also a feeling we even see illustrated a number of times throughout the Bible. God, however, does not always look for the most "qualified" person; rather, He searches for someone who is willing to surrender to Him in obedience.
Before we can even start to surrender, however, we need to realize that regardless of what our situation looks like, God has a plan for our lives. "10 This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity" (Jeremiah 29:11-13, NIV). In this passage of scripture, Jeremiah the prophet writes to the Israelites who are stuck in Babylonian captivity. Despite how the situation looked, God reminds the Israelites through Jeremiah that he has a plan for them. This is the same for us as Christians. We have to trust in God's sovereignty and believe he has a plan for our lives.
A passage I am brought back to when I consider what God is calling me to do is the book of Jonah. When we look at this book of the Bible, we see a prophet that God asks to do a specific job. Instead of following God's call, Jonah runs. This is a relatable passage. Running from a challenging job is easy. It requires no work, no confrontation, and no growth. Running is not always literal; however, it could also look like stagnation or avoidance. In today's terms, running could be God calling you to do something, but instead procrastinating or doing things that you know God does not want you to do. Let's read the first chapter of Jonah and see how this passage can apply practically to our lives.
Jonah Chapter 1
Jonah Flees From the Lord
1 The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”
3 But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.
4 Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. 5 All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship.
But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. 6 The captain went to him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.”
7 Then the sailors said to each other, “Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity.” They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. 8 So they asked him, “Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What kind of work do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?”
9 He answered, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”
10 This terrified them and they asked, “What have you done?” (They knew he was running away from the Lord, because he had already told them so.)
11The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?”
12 “Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” he replied, “and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.”
13 Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. 14 Then they cried out to the Lord, “Please, Lord, do not let us die for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, Lord, have done as you pleased.” 15 Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. 16At this the men greatly feared the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows to him.
Jonah’s Prayer
17 Now the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
So what?
Jonah chapter 1 says a lot, but what can we understand from what we've read?
When God calls us to do something, he desires obedience.
God's desire for obedience is reiterated throughout Scripture. "22 But Samuel replied: “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams" (1 Samuel 15:22).
After Jonah runs from God's direction, it not only affects him, but it affects everyone around him.
When Jonah boarded the ship bound for Tarshish to deliberately flee from God, God sent a storm that disrupted the sea, causing everyone aboard the ship to be afraid.
How is my disobedience affecting the people around me?
Jonah's fleeing delays him from fulfilling his purpose and the salvation of others.
God told Jonah, “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” When I consider the direction God gave Jonah, I also think about the people that Jonah is refusing to speak to. God has always expressed a concern for the whole world. He is a loving father who offers salvation to everyone, despite how we feel about them.
When we delay in what God calls us to do, we delay in reaching others for the cause of Christ.
Consider your life and something you feel God may be calling you to do. Is it moving? Is it starting a new project? Is it changing careers? Is it sharing your testimony with someone you don't know? Are you being obedient, or are you running from his purpose in your life? Regardless of the season you are in, God has a purpose for you. Allow Him to show you the plans he has for you, then pursue Him and follow his lead, whatever direction it is.