Readings for today: Acts 9-11
I was talking the other day to a young person about calling. He is twenty years old and just beginning his journey in life and ministry. He is seeking God’s will. He wants to serve God in whatever he ends up doing. He is hoping to connect his vocation to his calling so he can find the most fulfillment in what he does. I shared my own journey with him and how I find myself in a place where my vocation connects to my calling and what a joy it is to bounce out of bed every morning knowing you are doing exactly what you were created and called by God to do. There’s just nothing like it. But then I read the story of the calling of Saul, who becomes the Apostle Paul, and I am reminded that the call of God is not without struggle. Not without suffering. Not without heartbreak. I start to think of the brothers and sisters I know in dangerous places around the world who are called just as I am but whose lives are filled with so much pain and hardship. They face persecution, imprisonment, even death for the sake of the gospel. And this too is what it means to be called by God. So embracing one’s calling in life doesn’t necessarily mean everything will always go well.
I was particularly struck by God’s words to Ananias before he went to pray for Saul. Ananias is rightfully skeptical. Rightfully afraid. Are you sure you mean this man, God? Don’t you know all he has done to your people? How much harm he has brought to so many? Listen again to God’s answer. “The Lord said to him, “Go, for this man is my chosen instrument to take my name to Gentiles, kings, and Israelites. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” (Acts 9:15-16 CSB) Saul is God’s chosen instrument to take God’s name to the nations! To Gentiles and Israelites both. To kings and emperors in their royal courts. What a calling! But then comes the kicker. He will also suffer greatly for the sake of God’s name. He will endure all kinds of pain and hardship in his life. He will be persecuted, imprisoned, and eventually killed. This too is part of the call. And we see it lived out almost immediately. Saul is healed, baptized, and filled with the Holy Spirit. He begins to preach the gospel in Damascus. The impact of his preaching is incredible so the Jews there conspire to kill him. He escapes Damascus by night and travels back to Jerusalem. The early Christians were afraid of him but Barnabus convinces them to accept him. He begins preaching the gospel and again, a group of Hellenistic Jews conspire to kill him. Once again, he escapes and heads to Tarsus. This will become the pattern of Saul’s life as he fulfills God’s call.
What is God’s call on your life? How are you living into it? How does it connect to your vocation? How does it shape the way you interact with your family and friends? What aspects of your calling bring you joy? What aspects of your calling have cost you over the years? When do you feel most fulfilled in your call? When does your calling lead you into hardship, struggle, or pain? God’s call is not all rainbows and unicorns. All one has to do is read the Bible and the many stories of the men and women God calls over the centuries. Every single one of them not only experienced great miracles and victories but they also faced incredible trials and tests. The key, of course, is to remain faithful. God equips those He calls. He provides and protects them as well. He will never leave you or abandon you or forsake you. He promises to be with you even to the end.
Readings for tomorrow: Acts 12-14