HONORING AND FULFILLING YOUR CALLING

“But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.” (Acts 20:24 NKJV)

Wayne Myers, a mentor I so admire, served the Lord as a missionary in Mexico for over 70 years. When he was nearly100, I asked him what he thought about most. He told me his focus was simply to “honor the call” God had given him in 1946. I love that neither he nor the Apostle Paul, as they came to the fourth quarter of their lives, focused on survival, security or having some kind of monument built for them or their ministry. What brought such greatness and impact to their life’s work was that every day they focused on how they could honor and fulfill the call Jesus had put on their lives.

How do we honor our call? What can we learn from Paul and others about realizing and reaching our highest potential with Jesus? Let me give you seven thoughts on how we can honor and fulfill God’s call on our lives.

1. Stay grateful and never stop cherishing the wonder and gift of being called by God.

In John 15:16 Jesus tells us, “You did not choose me but I chose you and ordained that you should go and bear much fruit and that your fruit should remain.”

How incredible that God chose us! One time I asked the Lord how He could choose me, “I’m such a mess.” I felt He said, “Yes, but you’re my mess and I have and will make something incredible out of your life.”  Like Jeremiah, God knew you when you were in your mother’s womb; He formed and planned your life. John Maxwell said, “You were born to make a difference, doing something that makes a difference with people who make a difference.”

2. Stay clear and focused on your purpose and calling. For some, God reveals their calling supernaturally. For some, their purpose and calling gradually becomes clearer as they understand their spiritual gifts and the passion God puts in their heart. One author says, “Your calling is where your greatest passion meets the world’s greatest need.” I believe if you ask the Holy Spirit, He will help you define it and give you multiple confirmations.

3. Fulfilling your calling requires focus, a willingness to ruthlessly prioritize and sacrifice the good for the best. Dr. Robert Clinton, professor at Fuller Theological Seminary did a study and observed that only one third of the leaders in the Bible ended their lives in the will of God. We read about Solomon and others who became distracted. When Paul said, “none of these things move me” he was speaking of his determination to stay on course.

Our calling needs to be our anchor, our North Star, our gravitational centering point. We must ruthlessly determine not to let things like convenience or comfort distracted us. We live in a world where there are so many distractions, where people’s agendas and our own often compete.

One challenge, as we become more popular or have more options is being willing to continuously say “no” to the good and “yes” to the best. Jesus ruthlessly pruned his life. He would spend nights in prayer and give up the urgent for the important.

4. Realize success in God’s kingdom will often look quite different than how success is defined in the world. In the kingdom of God so many heroes are unseen and unsung. We must be aware that love for the stage, success, wealth, popularity, or applause can get us to lose sight of our purpose. I will always remember my friend, Paul Shaner. What a surprise it was when he shared God told him that his highest calling was to be my intercessor. People didn’t know or see Paul. He would travel with me to places like the Philippines and spend entire nights just praying for the ministry I would be doing the next day. I can’t tell you the value and appreciation I have for his gift to me.

A key factor in discovering our gift is being willing to completely surrender our agenda; to be available in whatever ways God wants to use us. John Wimber described it as being daily satisfied just to be “a coin in God’s pocket,” asking Him to spend you in whatever way He wants.

I love how this attitude is expressed in John Wesley’s covenant prayer.

“I am no longer my own, but thine. Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt. Put me to doing, put me to suffering. Let me be employed for thee or laid aside for thee; exalted for thee or brought low for thee. Let me be full, let me be empty. Let me have all things, let me have nothing. I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal. So now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Thou art mine and I am thine. So be it, and the covenant which I have made on earth let it be ratified in Heaven. Amen.”

5. Be bold and confident in taking the risks you believe God wants you to take to fulfill His will. Don’t be afraid of failing or living concerned about your reputation. Remember Jesus was “despised and rejected.”

Mark Batterson said, “Faithfulness is not holding down the fort; it’s storming the gates of Hell and taking back territory that belongs to God.”

John Wimber used to say, “I’m a fool for Christ, whose fool are you?”

Fear is always going to be part of the equation. It is the number one reason people fail to fulfill the call of God.  When God gives a call, there is often an exhortation to “fear not” or to be “bold and courageous.” Fear, if not honestly faced and surrendered to God, will become an excuse to procrastinate or go halfway. Andy Stanley says, “Fear creates paper walls or lids on our potential.” It is what stopped the 10 spies and a whole generation from entering the promised land and fulfilling their call.

I believe people, who fulfill their high call make it a life habit to regularly step out of their comfort zone. They find ways to be accountable and make risk a part of their life plan. They also confront the lies of fear.

Henry Ford said, “When we believe we can’t, we’re right, but when we believe we can, we will be right too.”

It is a good practice to list the lies that are often behind our fears. Here are some.

• It is horrible to disappoint people.

• Failure is shameful and humiliating.

• If you’re vulnerable you will get hurt.

• Looking stupid is unbearable; it will crush you.

• You can’t afford to take this risk; you might lose everything.

6. Honoring God’s call requires us to keep stretching, growing, and learning. “Honoring the call of God is never stagnant. It is never accomplished by coasting but by climbing. To fulfill the call of God, we must ‘think young’. There is always something to learn, because bearing fruit involves growing to your full potential.” Pablo Casals

7. Ultimately, honoring the call of God is accomplished not in the big things we do, but in the simple and sincere ways we love. Jesus talked about this in Matthew 25:35-39.

What people most frequently thank me for is simple sincere acts of love.

Honoring God’s call is a personal investment to change the world by fulfilling our call, loving one person at a time. Those little acts produce a compound interest.