On Being Called by God: Akin Bailey

A few weeks ago during my small group’s discussion on the book of Nehemiah, we touched on the subject of being called by God, and I want to expand on that discussion in my homily today. During that group meeting we voiced the ways in which we felt called by God, and I’ve heard any number of others from other people: to be a husband, to be a father, to care for the sick and those in prison, to be missionaries, to be single, to be baristas, teachers, pastors, the list goes on. These are all well and good and perfectly viable. To argue against that would, I think, be to argue against God’s power to use anyone anywhere for His good. And yet, still to me these calls seem to be lacking. 

Not in worthiness, not in the sense that they’re not good enough or that they’re false fronts being used for some other selfish desire (which is a thing that can and does happen with some frequency). To me, the way we talk and, at least for me, think about our calling seems to be lacking in a sense that it is missing something, like there should be a “yes, and…” attached to each one, or maybe a “for now,” or something. It feels a little unfinished to me. 

I think that when God calls us, He is beckoning us to follow Him. It’s not always obvious where we’re going with him. It’s not always obvious that we are with Him at all. Sometimes it feels like God is calling us from the other end of a dark tunnel, and we just gotta trust that it’s actually Him on the other side. 

This is very much how I’ve been feeling lately. I know what I should be doing, but it’s not quite clear to me where the heck it’s all going. Yes I know it’s gaining me heaven credit or whatever, and sure it’s good for my soul probably, but it’s dark, and I’m scared, and I want to get out. When Nehemiah was rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem after its destruction by the Babylonians, I’m sure he felt much the same. It’s important to remember, though, that he did not simply do it. I believe that God called him to undertake this task, but I highly doubt that God laid out the full plan at the outset. Nehemiah probably had no idea that King Artaxerxes of Persia would actually let him go to Jerusalem, let alone send with him building tools and materials. I’m sure he didn’t really expect everyone to jump in and help him with the work when he got there, but he still needed to take steps forward in order to go where God was calling him. He didn’t have the full picture, all he had was the next important step. 

So often, this is actually all we may get from God, but I think it’s more than enough. We have to do our part too. We have to have the faith that lets us step into the darkness towards God. We have to trust him to carry us through. And yeah, that can be uber scary, but it’s comforting to me to know that God isn’t calling me to get to the end of the tunnel all at once, He’s not saying that I have to have it all planned out first. All he’s calling me to right now is the very next step on the way. 

Akin Bailey is a graduate of LA Tech and former Wesley intern. He enjoys wandering around the woods, cooking good food, spending time with his wife Camellia, and reading books. He is a joy, a delight, a faithful servant and disciple of Jesus, and an indescribable blessing to our community.