Callings and Needs
Did you know that every date beginning 1-20-21 through 1-29-21 is a palindrome?
Did you know that won’t happen again for a century?
Does any of this matter to your calling?
Oswald Chambers’ My Utmost for His Highest is one of my go-tos when it comes to devotionals. The devotionals included in this book were actually class notes of his that his wife put together after his way-too-young death at the age of 43. These notes came from talks Chambers did for seminary students in Cairo and as such, many of the devotionals in this book speak directly to young people who have felt a call into ministry. In other words, they are written for you and I!
My Utmost for His Highest is a yearly devotional and March 5th is one of my favorites. I asked the organization that oversees Chambers’ work for permission to post it here. They appreciated me asking, but rather than allowing me to rewrite and post it, they gave me this link for you to read his words: https://utmost.org/is-he-really-my-lord/
In his brilliant way, Chambers states, “If you have received a ministry from the Lord Jesus, you will know that the need is not the same as the call – the need is the opportunity to exercise the call. The call is to be faithful to the ministry you received…”
Chambers’ words were a warning to his students, a warning to not confuse their calling with a need they might happen to see in their communities. I was called to Idaho in August of 2014 to dialogue with others about God’s Son. I am now doing that through an online medium because the virus presented me with an opportunity to exercise my calling. You all know your personal call story; a deep, close, intimate story between you and the Lord himself. Oh, you have probably shared it with others, but if you are anything like me, you can never explain it in words in quite the same way that Jesus imprinted it upon you. Praise be to God!
Chambers’ words of March 5th help to bring you and I, pastors who are years out of seminary, back to our calling. They act as a check point, a signpost along the road, reminding us why we are here, who we are working for and what it is we are to do. Use this devotion time to remember why you are here. Feel the movement of the Spirit today, as you did years ago. Then, smile and know that you are loved, you are wanted, and you are His! Amen?
Pastor Patrick Jones
UR His Church