So often, the Bible makes it sound as God spoke right out loud to people.
For example, consider what God is recorded as saying in Genesis 12:1-2, “The Lord said to Abram, ‘Leave your land, your family, and your father’s household for the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation and will bless you. I will make your name respected, and you will be a blessing.”
However, my experience is that God seldom speaks in an audible voice. I’m not saying that he does not speak audibly on occasion, but that certainly seems to be the exception, not the rule in our modern experience of God. I even wonder how God called Abraham.
The verses immediately before the above reading say, “Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot (son of Haran), and his son Abram’s wife, Sarai his daughter-in-law. They left Ur of the Chaldeans for the land of Canaan, and arriving at Haran, they settled there. Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Haran” (Genesis 11:31-32, CEB).
Notice in these verses that it was Terah’s idea to go to the land of Canaan, not his son’s idea. It was after his dad’s death that Abram decided to continue the dream and travel to the land of Canaan. Maybe somewhere in the midst of all the circumstances of life, Abram came to feel that his dad’s unfulfilled plan was God’s call on his life.
God’s call upon our lives may be influenced by many things and life experiences. That’s how my personal call to ministry came about. When I was 14, our school counselor encouraged us to start thinking about what we wanted to do for our future vocations because that would have an influence on the educational paths we would take. I not only began to think about a career, I began to pray about it.
One evening when I was at a Christian camp, at my request a couple of other teenagers were praying over me for guidance for my life. One of them began to mention in prayer ways God could use me, and I thought to myself, “If he mentions ‘minister’ then that is what God wants me to do.”
“Minister” was the next word out of his mouth. It could have been a coincidence, but I felt a peace in my heart that God was calling me to ministry. There was no thunder, no lightning, no earthquake, just a still small voice in my heart. That moment shaped the rest of my life.
Sometimes our callings are the result of circumstances. In 1960, my grandfather was hit head-on by a drunk driver. He sustained severe, permanent brain damage and a mangled body, but he survived. When it came time to leave the hospital, my grandmother refused to put him in a nursing home and took him home where she cared for him as a bed-patient for nine years before his death. That was her calling.
In the movie, “The Patriot” (2000), Mel Gibson played the role of Benjamin Martin, who was a former British soldier in the French and Indian War. He was a widower, trying to raise seven children by himself in the colonies.
He was heavily recruited by the Continental Army, but declined, no longer wanting to be part of the horrors of war. But the war came to him in the form of the British army, and he finally realized he could no longer remain neutral. He joined the cause and eventually became the captain of a guerilla group and a hero of the Revolutionary War. His calling was forced upon him by his circumstances.
The voice of God comes to us in many ways. Jesus said, “Ask, and you will receive. Search, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Whoever seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door is opened” (Matthew 7:7-8, CEB).
God speaks to us in many ways and uses many things to guide our lives. There may be room for doubt, but if we seek the Father’s will for our lives, we will find it and doors will be opened for us. He will use us in great and mighty ways to achieve his purposes in our lives for the sake of his Kingdom.
Dr. Dan Darby is a retired United Methodist pastor.
