The Call Doesn’t Come Easy

This is the part where I admit I had it all wrong. I once believed that God's call for my life would come easily. I believed that everything would just fall into place, that circumstances would naturally align, that the sea of life would part and that I’d walk simply into the promised land of my purpose. Did I already mention that I was wrong about that?

Instead, it seemed that the exact opposite happened. It seemed that once I became clear about what God’s call for my life was and the more I started to operate faithfully in that calling, the more life decided to up the ante. Trials came out of the left and right fields. I felt like I was being attacked in my physical health, mental health, finances, and family, and I found myself saying, “Really God?” on numerous occasions. 

I was then reminded of 1 Peter 4:12-13, “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.”

This was to be expected. 

Walking in your calling doesn’t mean immunity from trouble. In fact, it almost ensures trouble. I shouldn’t have been surprised by it. I should have been prepared for it. 

Not only that, but I should have been rejoicing in it. What a heart check. 

What is it in me that would think that I’d be immune from suffering in my calling when Jesus Himself suffered so deeply while walking out His own calling?

Entitlement? Self-righteousness?

There’s a measure of suffering to be expected when we operate in the call God has for our lives. We should celebrate this.

Not because it feels good (because it certainly doesn’t), but because we are giving God the unique opportunity to reveal His glory in our lives through those trials.

How much more can God’s name be elevated and His goodness magnified when we continue to do good in spite of the trials we face? How much more is He honored by our lives and our actions when we press forward in our calling despite the opposition we face? How much more evident does it become to others that there must be a God working greater within us who gives us the strength and fortitude to continue on in the face of the troubles that come against us?

James 1:2-4 becomes so much clearer when you have this perspective-

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

The more we suffer for the sake of Christ, the more our hearts and our characters are shaped and refined after Him. The more we prevail in hardship, the more God’s glory is showcased in our lives (1 Peter 4:14 If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.”).

So rather than fighting the difficulties we face when walking out what we’ve been called to do, we should lean deeply into those difficulties with great expectation. For while we may suffer for the sake of Christ, that suffering is not in vain, and we can boast in the goodness of the Lord who reveals more of Himself amidst our circumstances.