It's been a while and still I'm only writing to myself

Oswald Chambers. I've heard of him but never read him. Never really wanted to. Until I saw my brother reading him. My brother has excellent taste in books, music, photography, art...so I paid attention. But I didn't have any of Chambers' books so I still didn't read him. Until.

I was given a copy of My Utmost for His Highest Special Updated Edition edited by James Reimann. An extra copy on a shelf offered to me in an off-hand manner. The hand of my mom seemed to be the hand of God and now I read Chambers and I am blessed.

It can be so easy to read the same scriptures over and over and always see the same message. There is so much there to see but my mind's eye follows the same line of vision, the thought pattern following the same rut in my brain, each time making the groove deeper, a thought-river always flowing, never cutting. Reading Chambers is like rafting down another fork in the river, one I rafted past before but never saw.

Today, January 14, the verse is a familiar one, Isaiah 6:8. God asks, "Who should I send? Who will go?" and Isaiah replies, "I will." Often-times I have heard it said that a person has been called to the ministry. A person. Like God said, "You, this is your job." And sometimes that is the case. But Chambers points out that God didn't say, "Isaiah, I'm sending you." He sent a call out and Isaiah was listening.

How often is God calling and I don't hear it? The responsibility is not on God to say, "Hey, Sarah! This is the job I have for you today." The responsibility is on me to listen for God saying, "I have a job, who will do it?" I do believe that there are times when God specifically calls my name with a task in mind, but if I haven't practiced listening for his call, will I know his voice? Will I hear him call my name?

To take it even farther, this removes the excuse for someone to sit idly by waiting for God to call them, not to be confused with waiting on God because he is asking you to do so. We are explicitly told to be still. To be still and know that God is God. But not to be still and lazy, or to be busy with our own agendas.

When you look at this verse from the perspective of God calling out to everyone, it addresses the recurring issue of the same small group of people doing the majority of the work within the church. The ones working are the ones listening, not necessarily the ones called. We are all called. We just don't all listen. And of those listening, how many respond with, "I'm available."?