Understanding God’s Calling
Daily Old Testament Reading: 2 Chronicles 30-31; Psalm 48; Hosea 1
Daily Focus Passage: Hosea 1
God’s calling does not need to make sense to us. We do not need to understand the Lord's calling on our lives fully. The key for each believer comes when we hear and obey the Lord’s calling in faith. The prophet Hosea received such a calling when he was told to go and marry the prostitute, Gomer. God called his servant Hosea to carry out an improbable task to declare and show an eternal message. Hosea may not have understood the gravity of the calling, but the Lord had a purpose for it. Today, we receive callings from the Lord that do not always make sense. When we receive such a calling, we must strive to fulfill it like Hosea fulfilled his calling from the Lord.
HEAR GOD’S COMMAND
The Lord chose to use Hosea to declare his warning to the people. This calling occurred as the Lord provided Hosea with a task and message that would declare and demonstrate the Lord's message for the people. The ability to carry out the calling of the Lord begins with hearing the Lord’s call. The ability to hear the call of the Lord comes when we listen for the Lord and seek the Lord.
When we speak with the Lord in prayer, we must also assume the posture of hearing from the Lord. We often speak to the Lord in prayer, but more important is allowing the Lord to speak to us in prayer. When we enter the posture of receiving the calling of the Lord, we set the course in our lives to receive his calling.
Likewise, we must strive to seek the Lord. When we seek the Lord, we dedicate ourselves to the pursuit of knowing the Lord and his will and ways. To seek the Lord includes the abandonment of the self and the acceptance of wherever the Lord leads. When we seek the Lord, we gain the ability to hear the Lord because our focus is set on the Lord.
THE DIFFICULTY OF GOD’S COMMAND
The Lord’s command does not always align with how we believe something should be. The Lord called Hosea to marry a sinful prostitute. As Hosea took this wife of harlotry, several possibilities of this command become evident. First, she could have been faithful at first and then became adulterous. If this were the case, Hosea would marry Gomer, knowing she would become unfaithful. Second, she could have been a known prostitute or a temple prostitute. Either situation meant that Hosea would take an unclean and unrighteous wife. Both these options for Gomer caused great difficulty for Hosea.
THE FAITHFULNESS TO GOD’S COMMAND
Hosea accepted the calling of the Lord and obeyed the command the Lord gave. He took Gomer and made her his wife. To fulfill this command faithfully, Hosea had to overcome everything he knew to be right and accept the pain of following the Lord. Hosea stepped out of everything he knew to follow the Lord. As a result, obedience occurred in humility.
When we follow the commands of the Lord, we must humble the self to the place, stepping out of what we think and moving to the place where God calls. This transition is difficult and takes great humility because we must remove ourselves from the cultural norms and traditions we may hold or see as righteous.
Following the commands of the Lord often carries a step of humble faith. We must seek to see that God is calling us to take part in his plan for redemption. In Hosea’s dynamic, the Lord will use Hosea’s marriage to support the voice of the prophet's declaration of the Lord. Are you ready to take the step of faith no matter the cost of following the calling of the Lord?
