I felt like I was standing at the edge of a great precipice! There was no doubt that God was speaking and that what He was asking me to do was big. I was not unaccustomed to hearing the voice of God. I do not mean by that that I heard an audible voice speaking to me, but that God was impressing upon my spirit that He had something for me to do.
I have heard the “voice of God” several times since my salvation at the age of ten. I soon learned that hearing and heeding the voice of the Lord meant a time of spiritual-stretching for me as I submitted to Him in obedience. At first His voice was heard in the areas of soul-winning, studying the word, and teaching others. Yielding to the Lord in these areas definitely moved me outside my “comfort zone” and required some rearranging of my personal life in order to accomplish God’s will. As I look back over my Christian pilgrimage, I realize that the Lord never allowed me to get comfortable in what I was doing for Him.
When I was in my early twenties, I felt God calling me to full time Christian service. I did not know it then (probably a good thing), but obeying the voice of the Lord would take me places where I never thought I would go and do things I never thought I would do. While in seminary, God gave me many opportunities to serve Him in a local church. Just prior to finishing seminary, the Lord called me to serve as a missionary in South Africa. While in Africa, I was privileged to plant a church, begin a Bible Institute, and evangelize the people in the northern suburbs of Cape Town. By God’s grace, I am now serving as senior pastor to a wonderful group of people in Chambersburg, PA.
Many Christians struggle with the concept of the “call of God.” Let me close by listing some things I have learned the call of God on the believer’s life.
- The Lord will make His will known to us if we ask Him to reveal it (Colossians 1:9Colossians 1:9
9 For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;
). - The Lord will make His will known to us if we are willing to do it (John 7:17John 7:17
17 If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.
). - The Lord will supply the necessary ability to accomplish His will if we trust Him for it (Philippians 4:13Philippians 4:13
13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
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