Living Beneath the Call

Grabbing what’s at hand is much easier than going for the gold. And that can be good. When we’re racing the clock, jamming too many obligations into too little time, choosing the easiest way out can be the quickest and sanest way of responding to the madness around us.

But here’s the thing. When the short cut and the quick fix become our common approaches to life – and our typical way of approaching God, it creates problems.

Why is that?

It’s because God never created mankind for mediocrity. He designed us in His image, to reflect His glory, to accomplish His purpose, to live as conquerors in the Name of Jesus. He’s actually made a “boatload” of promises to us in His Word that say so.

Here’s just a few of the promises He has made to those who believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior:

  • We are friends of God.  “No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.” (John 15:15)

  • The Lord has made us kings and priests. “To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” (Revelation 1:5b-6)

  • We are the children of Abraham and heirs of his blessing. “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you all are one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” (Galatians 3:28-29)

  “that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might
  receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” (Galatians 3:14)

  • We are joint heirs with Jesus.  “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs – heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.”  (Romans 8:16-17)

Hallelujah!! Thank you Lord!!

Living and giving our best in life, with our relationship with the Lord at the center of life, only happens if we choose His best as our norm. When we settle for less, we shortchange ourselves, the One Who Made Us, and those He wants to bless through us.

Every person has a destiny. The Bible says He knows the plans He has for us, plans to prosper us and not to harm us, to give us a hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11). Every person has a purpose, custom-made by God for his or her personal best and to accomplish His purpose. And He’s more than willing to reveal it if we really want to receive it.

Challenge is always part of realizing our purpose. When we’re not challenged, we don’t grow.  When we don’t grow we stagnate and wither, and so does our relationship with the Lord.

This is especially true for those the Lord has called to serve Him in ministry. Here is something He put on My heart recently:

I prepare My people, those who are devoted to Me, serious about accomplishing My
purpose, for a shift. Many have gifts that have not been used to their capacity. Many have
faith that has lain dormant, bearing a partial crop when I have called for abundance. Many of
My people have been lax, only extending themselves so far because they have not truly
desired to do more for Me and for My Kingdom.

Living beneath the call – meaning whatever God has called you to do with your life – is related to living beneath your level of relationship with Him. God is all about growth, progression, development. 

This makes me think of Psalm 1, where it talks about “blessed is the man” who doesn’t hang out with sinners and mockers, but delights in God’s Word and “meditates on it day and night.” It says that man is “like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.”

God is big on fruit. No matter how old we are, He expects us to keep producing a quality crop by abiding in Him, in His vine.

From God’s perspective, the simple and least challenging way out is not always His choice. He’s always about stretching us, calling us higher in Him.

Maybe you’re reading this and you feel irritated, even agitated. If so I ask you not to stay there but to challenge yourself and ask the Lord, in Jesus’ name, to have His way with you.

Ask Him to shift your heart and mind, from complacency to conviction fueled by passion.

Ask Him to reveal the benefits that result from going beyond, even enduring inconvenience, difficulties and delays, when they are part of His plan.

Ask Him, in all of what you face, to mold and shape you so that you realize the fullness of His call. As you let Him lead you, day in and day out, He will transform you and use you as an agent for eternal change in the world around you.

For those who say yes to His call, expect the results to amaze you. And expect Him to be pleased.

By Ann Pinkney