Wrestling with the Call

 August 2, 2013

Tozer hits another one out of the park as he discusses the tension between God's call and man's response (God's Pursuit of Man - ch. 3).  We tend to want to see God's call as something of an optional invitation to a party which we are free to respond to (positively or negatively).  And to be sure as far as freewill goes, we do have that freedom.

HOWEVER, God's call is not like a friend's invitation to dinner.  Rather the call of God is a directive from the King of Kings that we reject or neglect at the expense of offending God Himself.  Think of it - the very One who has done so much for us (who deserve nothing but condemnation)...

We dare not turn down such an invitation and yet we do and in so doing we attempt to place ourselves as masters of our own destiny.

We love to think that hell will be easier to bear from the fact of our own having gone there in defiance of some power that sought to rule us...

Unless or until we have a restored sense of God's sovereignty we will wallow in our own self assured comfort that God is not calling us to service beyond that which we have chosen for ourselves.  Thankful that God has not called you to do that which so many others are being called to do?  Perhaps you are not listening.  Perhaps he is directing you to do something which you just can't do, or don't think you can do because of your health, because of your age, because of your financial situation.  God never calls us to something we can do.  God calls us to work only He can do.

Your Captain is calling.  Are you listening???