God's Call, part II

...Continued from Part I, below.

In the case of someone saying they know or hear God's Call, I think we need to examine the former (that is, re-examine how God is currently "acting" in our lives). To my knowledge, no one I know claims God's booming voice (that is to say, an audible voice heard in the same way you hear any person) called them. For that matter they don't claim to have heard any kind of audible voice, loud or soft, in the same way my voice is audible to you were I to read this article to you. So how should we resolve this issue?

First, we have to admit that God doesn't work through means that are as clear cut as a direct order from a mysterious bodiless voice. We have to admit that either God works in ways a bit different than the ones described in the Bible, or we have to court the thought that God has always acted in ways similar to those of today and that the Biblical accounts of God "speaking" or "acting" (etc.) are used in the same way that we use those terms in reference to God today. In either event, God isn't calling your cell phone, nor is God text messaging you with your next mission in life.

So, we don't claim God called on the phone; given that that is the case, we have to really take it on faith that the Call we are hearing is indeed the work God intends for us. That's kind of a judgment call, depending a great deal on how well you are in tune with God and with God's will. Nevertheless, some claim they are SO certain about what God is asking them to do with their lives.

Their entire lives! That's a big deal, so we need to treat it that way.

What if God is just telling me what to do for the next week and I stop listening before God is done and I start doing it for the rest of my life? Or what if I think God wants something for me in the short term, and instead means to put me out there for the rest of my life? It is a sword that cuts both ways. I get the feeling that (some) people become so convinced that God's Call for them is the period or exclamation point on their lives. They put their head down and get to work, never pausing to look up. That's all fine and good, but I think it is VERY difficult to realize when God wants us to be at another task when we have our heads down, especially when we hit our groove out there and forget to check back in on a pretty frequent basis.

The more I'm living my own life the more uneasy I am to say with a great amount of certainty that I am doing the one thing God is Calling me to do. And yet, some people stick to some One Thing they claim is God's Call and do it for the rest of their lives. In this article, I found a statement I think many can identify with: "Others (like me) made certain decisions about career either out of a lack of proper direction or from a basis of skewed priorities.... And looking back, I can see that God has been working on me and leading me, even during those times when my faith was less than strong. But still, there is that persistent feeling that something needs to be different in terms of work." This is very true, and as someone who does feel (dare I say) Called to work in the C/church for the rest of my life, and I really agree that within the context of Christian culture, there is a lot of pressure not to just find an occupation, but to instead discover or be led to a vocation directed by God's divine hand.

That, too, is all fine and good. I think we should strive not to just choose something to do for the rest of our lives just so we aren't bored, but should instead seek something at a deeper level. We should be seeking to find where our theology meets our occupation. BUT (and this is an important but) a big pitfall here is that we start to think that God is Calling us to a single occupation/vocation, as though there is only one right answer, and an infinite number or wrong answers. Lest we forget, God is going work the Divine Will through us no matter what we do.

Let me provide an example. I know a girl named Lindsay. Lindsay, a couple years ago, was looking for a job in youth ministry. Because Lindsay is freaking awesome, she was offered a position at four places: North Carolina, Kansas City, Louisiana, and California. This leaves her is a bit of a bind. Namely, which one to choose? Her concerns revolved around a central question: what if I choose the wrong one? But, after many tough discussions, we stumbled upon an important point: God's work was waiting to be done at each of the four places. In fact, she could choose none of those four and still go off and do God's work. The question she should instead be asking was, "How can I best serve God?" In the end, she would go off and do God's will, and there was little she could do to avoid that. She chose a place she felt she fit, and was confident God's work, just as in the other three places, was waiting for her there.

At this point, we have to ask another question. If the Call is, at best, varying degrees of ambiguous, then how do we start, in a humble way, to ask, dialogue, and hear that Call?

Another article, here, has some helpful words, "The key, of course, begins with self-understanding, prayer, and a willingness to allow ourselves to ask the questions. We often need to have other people share in the discernment process. A good spiritual director is a necessary element of any vocation discernment! So often we feel that we are the only ones who have these types of questions or feelings. We may feel we are the only one in the whole world who has been called! Of course the opposite is true."

This brings me to Point Number 2: given that God doesn't work through telegraphs, or memos, or video conferencing (yadda yadda), we must instead look at how God works through events and people in our lives. We have to look at how God works through us when we are honest and real about prayer.

I think we all read that and think: Well of course I pray. I'm the best at praying. I pray all the time. Good. Pray more. And don't forget to listen. Stop talking every now and then and let your mind go. Let God speak ("speak") to it. That's big. The stuff up there in that quote about having a mentor is also big. In fact, not just one mentor, but lots of people that are on the faith journey that you can talk to. Ask questions. Ask God, your mentor, and everyone who is worthy enough to have your respect. Never stop asking.

Prayer, as big as it is, is good. But there is another, more practical or proactive, route that you should also be taking as well: "Finally, we must experiment and evaluate. Try out things related to what we are discerning. We can volunteer for related activities, take a part time job in an area that seems appropriate, or participate in related parish groups. We should try anything that seems appropriate that will give us a chance to try things out. And as we do that, we should evaluate. Over time, God will show us what we need to do." (click here for the full thing)

Did you get that? Over time. These things take time, so don't stress out about it. First, don't let the pressures of this world force you into making a hasty decision. Second, don't fear failure. If you go out there and strike out at the plate, then chalk that up to experience and move on. God is still going to work the Divine Will through you, even in your failures. Third, don't second guess yourself to death. Have the confidence to know when you are in tune with God, but have the humility to check in without freaking out when you do it. Fourth, don't give up hope. Whatever people say, Call is NOT easy and Call is RARELY definite. To find one or many of the Calls God has for you in your life is a treasure. Treasure is valuable and therefore difficult to attain.

There's a great book out there called The Alchemist and it has a line saying, "Everything that happens once can never happen again. But everything that happens twice will surely happen a third time." Suffice to say there are few guarantees out there.

Strive to find your Call. Set your heart, mind, and spirit on Christ. Pray. Talk to everyone you know and love. Listen. God's voice will not speak to you in the way you might think. It will probably not speak to you in a way that makes you certain beyond all convictions. But maybe, just maybe, that is because a measure of humility is demanded in every Call.

In the end, take this last quote to heart. It was spoken by Iain Torrence , president of Princeton Theological Seminary during commencement this past May: "In your future lives, remember that it is possible to be passionate without being fanatical. It is possible to be mistaken or just plain wrong and I often am."