When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, "Moses! Moses!"
And Moses said, "Here I am."
--Exodus 3:4
As a kid growing up in the sand-hills of southwest Kansas, I developed an affinity for rain. It's not just the parched earth that cries out for the nectar of the heavens, but all the creatures living on it. We would watch as the dark clouds would form in the distance, and make their way across the treeless plains toward our domain. Then boys of 7 years and 5 years and 2 years would stand with their mouths open in a competition to catch the first drop.
A life purpose is like the sensation of catching the first drop of rain in your mouth. It provides one with drive and enthusiasm, motivation and direction. Catching this calling is as essential as the regular consumption of food--without a calling life enters the doldrums and despair can quickly set in.
The Bible is a powerful retelling of human beings catching their calling. Our church is beginning a sermon series on the life of Moses. Understanding how to catch your calling is just as important as the calling itself--without one, you miss the other.
The way we receive our calling is important, but not necessarily consistent. For Moses, it was an encounter with the living God through a burning bush in the wilderness. For Samuel, he heard the voice of God in the temple, but saw nothing. Many experiences involving angels and messengers sent by God are scattered throughout the Bible. And for some, they simply read the Bible, and understand that God has called them to action.
But what we simply must not miss is that every person has a calling. This sermon is about how to catch yours.
“God did not direct His call to Isaiah— Isaiah overheard God saying, ". . . who will go for Us?" The call of God is not just for a select few but for everyone. Whether I hear God’s call or not depends on the condition of my ears, and exactly what I hear depends upon my spiritual attitude.”
― Oswald Chambers, MY UTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST - UPDATED [1]
5 ways to catch your calling
Moses' story in Exodus 3 and 4 is a case study in how to catch your calling. God calls to Moses from the burning bush, and Moses approaches with curiosity. God speaks to Moses about the atrocities that He has witnessed, and has heard about, happening to the Israelite people in Egypt. Moses is standing outside watching the rain clouds form and holding out his tongue to catch that first sweet drop of rain from the heavens when God drops the bomb.
"So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt."
Exodus 3:10
What is so astounding in the book of Exodus is wrapped up in this World Super-power under the rule of Pharaoh, and how God intends to free the Israelite people: Moses. God's plan is to use a shepherd-outlaw to redeem a people under law. It is only after a consistent downpour of the rain of God that Moses consents and catches his calling. Here are the 5 ways to catch yours.
1) Understand your macroscopic worth. (Exodus 3:11-12)
God's consistent methods of deliverance in the Bible come in the most startling of ways. A baby born in a lowly stable that is in fact the Lord of the Heavens? A shepherd boy who cuts down the God-slanderer Goliath? An army of three-hundred I-drink-water-like-a-dog-and-lap-it-up soldiers who rout their enemies numbering over 100,000? Just like Moses, we find ourselves saying, "Who am I?" (Exodus 3:11). But God says: "You are the one." Contrary to your innumerable insecurities, you are His obvious choice.
2) Know the One calling you. (Exodus 3:13-22)
"Names are the sweetest and most important sounds in any language." --Dale Carnegie
There is intrinsic power in knowing names. It is one of the first things you hear when you meet a business partner or a new neighbor. Sadly, it is often the first thing people forget. For Moses, he wanted--he needed--to know Who was calling him. Intimacy with Jesus is integral to faithfully living out your call. Have you talked to Him today? When was the last time you prayed and asked Him what He wanted you to do? Now is a great time to stop and do that.
3) Focus on obedience, not results. (Exodus 4:1-9)
Results matter. Few ideologies so plague the human race as this one lie. Study the life of Ahaz, once king of Judah. Look at king David counting his people. Watch Jesus in the desert...what is it that Satan tempts him with? Results.
Moses was concerned that no one would believe him or listen to him. Those involved with your calling may ignore you or refuse to believe. What is the test of your mission success? It is summed up in two words: Your obedience. Do what God has called you to do.
4) Believe that God will accomplish His purposes. (Exodus 4:10-12)
Moses appears to be insecure and inept. This is an interview gone bad. Moses is trying to talk his way out of God's holy selection and dissuade the Master of the Universe. Moses allowed his thoughts to fill with insecurity and remembrances of failure. As Warren Wiersbe writes, "Moses was making the mistake of looking at himself instead of looking to God" (Exodus 6:12) [2].
Instead, our utmost confidence should be placed in the One who establishes everything under His will. Knowing and believing this will keep you on task and protect you from discouragement. He accomplishes all that He sets out to do, and He does it in His way and in His time. The One who has every moment of your life written in His book (Psalm 139:16) and knows every word on your tongue before you speak it (Psalm 139:4) brings to fruition what His heart desires. God will do it. He beckons us to engage and participate in this Kingdom-building enterprise, and to do so is to be in the favor of God.
5) Accept your role as a leader. (Exodus 4:13-17)
There is a reason that God has chosen you. It is because He knows you are the right choice. It is through you that His will is accomplished. May that thought give you confidence.
Accepting your role as a leader becomes difficult when we begin to compare. We see powerful and prominent individuals dripping with woo and gifted to the nines, and we begin the self-condescension spiral...prayers leave our lips asking the Lord to send another in our place because we are simply not cut out for it. God, however, is convinced otherwise.
The best course of action, the one we are called to embrace, involves accepting our role in serving in the kingdom of Jesus. To honor Him with our lives through sacrifice, evangelism, worship, giving, discipleship, prayer, study of the Word, friendships, and love is your path.
Calling is the key to tracing the story line of our lives and unriddling the meaning of our existence in a chaotic world.”
― Os Guinness, The Call: Finding and Fulfilling the Central Purpose of Your Life
[1] Oswald Chambers quote. https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/calling
[2] Wiersbe, Warren W. (2010-08-01). Be Delivered (Exodus): Finding Freedom by Following God (The BE Series Commentary) (p. 26). David C Cook. Kindle Edition.
