Fulfill Your Calling
Dr. Valson Abraham
Just as a man is anointed king over a nation, God anoints you and me as His priests and ambassadors to bear the Good News to every person. Just as a king has certain privileges and responsibilities in his calling, so do we.
Not every anointed king fulfills his calling well, nor does every believer take his calling seriously to take the Good News to others.
Both Saul and David were chosen by God as kings over Israel. Saul was God’s first choice, but he did not fulfill his divine calling well. He failed to listen to the voice of God. He failed to obey. His position as king loomed larger to Him than the God who called him. He tried to fulfill God’s calling in his own way. He failed to repent, and he made excuses, trying to justify himself. He succeeded only in deceiving himself.
Samuel the prophet told him, “Now your kingdom shall not endure. The Lord has sought out for himself a man after His own heart…”; (1 Samuel 13:14)
That man was the shepherd boy, David. An average person like most of us, he had serious weaknesses, but he listened to God. When he failed—sometimes miserably—he made no excuses. He owned his sin and asked for God’s forgiveness and a new heart. For this reason, God promised him and his descendants a kingdom that would never end.
The contrast between Saul’s and David’s effectiveness should teach us an important lesson as we consider God’s call upon us to spread the Good News—it is always wise to listen to God. God’s Word will transform us and our ministry.
Not everyone in Samuel’s and David’s day could hear the voice of God. In their day, that lack of hearing came from a lack of revelation (1 Samuel 3:1). Today, we have revelation, but too often, we do not hear or listen.
Throughout the Bible, we read story after story of people whose vision and ministry were transformed when they heeded the voice of God. They became mighty spokesmen for God because Jesus’ words dispelled the deception that governed their lives. Peter thought he was a failure because he denied Jesus, but a word from Jesus transformed him into a great preacher. Jesus spoke a word to an uncertain Thomas, and he became the apostle to India. The word of Jesus transformed Paul from a hater of Christians to the apostle to the Gentiles.
Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice.” If that is so, why don’t we hear more than we do? It may be because of sin. Maybe we are too busy to listen—our priorities aren’t right. Maybe we mistake religious acts for a daily walk with God. Maybe we try to live out our faith in our own power instead of through the Holy Spirit.
All of these things turn our faith into a burden instead of a blessing. With no energy to think beyond our own concerns, the Good News becomes a weight around our necks. We have nothing to share.
In the scriptures, hearing the voice of God is a “given” for every believer. Paul tells us we are to be transformed by the renewal of our minds (Romans 12:2). Who else renews our minds but the Holy Spirit? This happens when the Holy Spirit dispels the enemy’s lies with His truth as we submit to Him in honest prayer and confession.
When we hear the voice of God, we cannot but tell others what God has done in our lives. The Good News really becomes Good News because we continue to experience it daily.
Have you heard God speak to you? Have you experienced His transformation? He is speaking to you all the time. Just as the boy Samuel in the temple, we may not be tuned in to recognize Him when He speaks.
But when we do, the voice of God will change us even as it changed so many in the Bible. One of the first things it will do is transform our attitude toward missions.
