May 12, 2008 - Three Ways God Calls

This is the third installment in the preview of my new book Is God Calling Me? which will be released in June 2008. While the book is targeted to young adults, it is applicable to every leader who is working through the process of understanding and experiencing God’s call. 

Listening to ministry leaders tell their call stories might lead you to believe God calls in an infinite number of ways. Every story is unique. God works with each person in a special way on an individual basis. God also called people in the Bible in a variety of ways, often through unusual means, with each person having a unique experience with God. 

But there are patterns to how God calls. Studying biblical call experiences reveals three primary ways God calls. You will be frustrated if you expect God to duplicate biblical call experiences to clarify your call. Those calls were unique to the persons involved. These biblical incidents are examples of God’s call, not stories to be duplicated or copied. When you discover the patterns in biblical call experiences, you can better understand how God is working in your life. 

As we consider the three ways God calls, it is easy to think one is more spiritual or significant than the others. This is incorrect. When God calls, it is always a supernatural experience. God’s calls are significant because of who is calling and what he is calling you to do. The circumstances of your call are not as important as the Source and purpose. Remember, no matter how God calls, it is always supernatural. 

God calls through sudden experiences, reasoned decisions, and the prompting of others. As each of these is described and illustrated, understand they are broad descriptions of the ways God calls. They are not rigid categories. God’s dynamic interactions with believers cannot be rigidly charted and itemized. Quantifying and qualifying call experiences, however, is helpful for creating shared categories for dialogue and understanding. 

God calls through sudden experiences
The first way God calls is through a sudden or dramatic experience. God called Moses to deliver Israel from Egypt by speaking from a burning bush (Exodus 3). The Lord called Saul (Paul) to ministry leadership on the road to Damascus (Acts 9). Both of these stories include God speaking clearly while revealed in supernatural light. Each was an overwhelming dramatic encounter for the recipient. Each call was unmistakable. 

Sometimes God calls like this. Often this kind of call comes during a life crisis. God intersects our lives powerfully, dramatically, and unmistakably. He speaks clearly, distinctly. A sudden or dramatic experience like this can be emotionally draining. It can also be frightening and cause us to wonder, “What just happened to me?” Some doubt God still calls this way. Biblical examples, the stories of other leaders, and my experience convince me otherwise. 

Some erroneously think this is the best kind of call. Several reminders and cautions help keep this experience in perspective. First, God calls in different ways and all his ways are supernatural. Second, God wants us to seek and worship him, not seek and worship an experience with him. Be careful not to glorify an experience with God more than God himself. Third, these kinds of experiences usually surprise people when they happen. God reveals himself in unique ways to accomplish his purpose, not to titillate our spiritual senses or give us something to brag about. Finally, this kind of experience is rare. Even in the Bible, God did not communicate this way with Moses or Paul every time he called them to do something. So it is with us. God may call you through a sudden, dramatic spiritual encounter but that does not normalize the process for every future call experience. 

God calls through reasoned decisions
A second way God calls is through a reasoned decision or process. Just like a sudden experience, this kind of call has biblical precedent. Paul, the same person who had the sudden experience on the Damascus Road, also heard God’s call through other means. On one missionary journey his mission team, “went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia and were prevented by the Holy Spirit from speaking the message in the province of Asia. Whey they came to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. So, bypassing Mysia, they came down to Troas (Acts 16:6-8).” 

During a night in Troas, Paul had a dream in which a Macedonian man asked him to “come over…and help us (Acts 16:9).” The team then “made efforts to set out for Macedonia (Acts 16:10).” A common understanding of this incident is Paul had a dream and instantly the team was in Macedonia preaching to the Macedonian man. Not so! 

First, the team spent weeks wandering through several provinces trying to discover God’s direction. They walked and walked and walked, while looking for an opening for the gospel or a place to plant a church. None materialized. Second, even after Paul had the dream the team still had to arrange travel to Macedonia. More process! Finally, and somewhat humorously, when the team arrived in Macedonia the man turned out to be a woman, Lydia. 

The team “concluded that God had called” (Acts 16:10) them to evangelize in Macedonia after months of travel, trying other alternatives, a dream, and more travel. Paul, the same man who was called dramatically on the Damascus Road, worked with his team through a reasoned process to discover God’s call to Macedonia. 

God sometimes calls through reasoned decisions, through the unfolding process of circumstances he allows. This type of call is supernatural. God is overseeing the process. Spiritual discernment reveals God’s hand behind the process and his intentional, methodical revelation of this kind of call. 

God calls through the prompting of others
The third way God calls is through the prompting of others. God sometimes sends a messenger, like Samuel selecting David to be the future king of Israel (1 Samuel 16). Other times, God speaks through the church (or Christian community) to reveal his will. One example of this was the initiation of the missionary movement through the church at Antioch. During a worship service, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul (Paul) for the work that I have called them to (Acts 13:2).” 

Paul and Barnabas were participating in the worship service. The obvious question is, “Why didn’t the Holy Spirit just speak directly to these men?” Instead, the Spirit prompted church members to communicate the call to the mission team. They told Paul and Barnabas about God’s plan and commissioned them for service. The call to missions came through the prompting of others. 

God’s calls are sure and secure no matter which of these ways he uses to communicate them to us. Be open to God calling you through sudden experiences, reasoned decisions, or the prompting of others. Your call may come through a crisis, through contemplation, or through the community. God has different ways of calling in different circumstances and seasons of life. However he calls, listen carefully and say yes!


Questions or comments? Please email those to jeffiorg@ggbts.edu

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