Doing God’s Will
The Bible, the very Holy Word of God, is so amazing. I enjoyed explaining to my Sunday school students that no matter your questions, concerns or challenges you face in life, you can find the answers if you look in the Bible. For 13 years, I tested this truth and the Bible never let us down in all that time. We had some very tough questions and difficult situations to deal with. And, God came through every time, without fail. Of course, some answers are a bit harder to source than others, but with great websites like The Bible Gateway (https://www.biblegateway.com/) or The USCCB Daily Readings (https://bible.usccb.org/ you have no excuse.
What’s my point? Consider today’s readings.
When God calls you to be an integral part of His Plan, how do you respond?
What a great question! I’m so excited about the answers to this question found in today’s readings. But, before we dig into the answer, let us first spend a few moments considering the question. At one time or another, I think we all wonder about God’s calling. So many things come to mind when thinking about this. For example, the following may run through your mind:
- When will He call me?
- What will He want me to do?
- How will I know its Him?
- How will I respond?
I have created a workshop that helps people find their purpose in life and understanding God’s Callings is a very important piece of the puzzle. For this week’s readings, we are going to focus on the question of how we will respond when God comes calling.
In the readings today, I’m inspired to think of the following three points that may help you when God comes calling.
- Just Do It
- God Strengthens You for the Call
- You will Receive Abounding Blessings in His Grace!!!
Mary’s example is the same as many of the Bible Heroes. First, there is initial shock. “How can this be?”, said Mary. So many of the Bible Heroes pushed back a little as they could not believe that something that miraculous could happen or that God would count them worthy of the Call (If you are curious, please read Hebrews 11 and study any of the Bible Heroes found there). No matter how afraid, or incredulous, soon after the Call, we witness faith filled obedience. May God’s Will be done. We see the answer to the question above—When you are called by God for a great work in His Kingdom here on Earth, we learn from Mary to Just Do It!
Another thing we notice from the Bible readings, is why we should not be afraid. God’s Call will come with the grace of strength through Faith. There were so many reasons for Mary to fear, including death by stoning. David received the grace of God’s strength by his complete faith in Him and ultimately was victorious over all Israel’s enemies. And Paul spoke of the power of Christ living in us and strengthening us through our faith. When you are called by God, you do not need to fear as He will strengthen you for the mission ahead.
And a third reason for optimism in the face of a difficult calling, is you will receive abounding blessings in His grace through the accomplishment of what He is asking you to do. God was asking David to have faith and believe in His mighty power. As we see in the first reading, God was with David and provided for David’s every need. When you step into God’s Calling and fulfill all that God is asking you to do, as with David, you will see the abounding blessings of God in your life. There is nothing you can experience on earth quite like the feeling of the supernatural coming to life through your acting on God’s call and completing His will for your life.
I ask that you pray and meditate on the following this week:
- Pray to God and ask him to call you to a special work in His Kingdom today and every day.
- Like Mary and David, pray for strength from God through your faith so that you may carry out the calling.
- Give thanks every day for blessings of fulfillment in God’s calling as He has invited you especially for performing good works in His Kingdom here on earth.
God Bless!
