What If God's Call Hurts?
Episode 16
What happens if God's call scares our socks off? In this 3rd part of a three part series, we will take a deep dive into the realities of following the Lord. Because it can be difficult and painful and heartbreaking AND His call. What will you do when Jesus calls you to something hard?
Show Notes
Today: dive a little deeper into Elizabeth’s story: When God’s Call Hurts
Greatest desire fulfilled, but she is being called to die
Wheat. Thrown into dirt. Die.
John 12:24- Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
We are given seed to sow. But that means it leaves our hand. So much is then out of control. Elizabeth gave all of herself to obey. To follow. And then she had to let go.
John's call wasn’t to be her son. But to be a prophet.
The world needs us to answer the hard, painful calls of God!
Let’s review Elizabeth for clues of how we should walk out our hard callings.
[Luke 1:6-7, 25, 41-45, 57-58, 60 ESV]
She was prepared
verse 6- righteous before God, walking blamelessly ... But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years. ...
It must have been hard for Elizabeth to believe AFTER menopause. But the Lord is not constrained by what constrains us.
What’s our not-enough?
BELIEVE Jesus will fulfill what He has spoken.
When became pregnant
Give God the glory when He opens a door in your life.
When Mary visits her, Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit,
First person to proclaim Jesus as Lord.
verse 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!
She encourages Mary:
verse 45- And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord." ...
This is the last time Elizabeth is mentioned.
Many scholars assume she and Zechariah died and John was raised by others. His later lifestyle resembles the Essenes, so it’s thought he might have spent time there.
We don’t know. So I want to take our last few minutes to extrapolate to picture what Elizabeth’s call was like if she did live.
Last episode we talked about how stubborn and strong willed John must have been. He was born with a special call.
Hard to raise him
Hard to listen to the neighbors
Hard when he decided to live in the desert
Hard when your 401K, goes to the wilderness and lives on bugs and honey.
When Elizabeth and Zechariah pictured having children, I seriously doubt it looked like John. I can just imagine her saying: Wait God, THIS is what you wanted?
The Lord gifted Elizabeth to have John and to lose him.
God’s plan for us and for our children is so much bigger than our American visions.
The honor of Elizabeth's call was the hard of it.
ARE WE PREPARED FOR WHAT JESUS CALLS US TO DO?
ARE WE PREPARED FOR WHAT JESUS CALLS TO GIVE UP?
God’s way for Daniel was an evening with lions. His way for Hosea was marriage to a harlot. For Sarah in the Old Testament, and Elizabeth in the New Testament, His way was barrenness for most of their lives. Jeremiah was called by God to prophesy to people who would hate and persecute him. Believers in Hebrew 11 were sawn in two and Paul was stoned, ship-wrecked, and bit by a snake and eventually executed.
If this was all there was, and the good here was as good as it got, that would be depressing.
We hear verses like Jeremiah 29:11 NIV- For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
God has plans. Plans to prosper.
BUT: that verse is talking about a time of restoration that is 70 years away.
That prosperity would never be seen by the listeners
But the listeners faithful living out their call, and obediently following the Lord, ALLOWED, PREPARED THE WAY for their children and grandchildren to experience The Lord’s restoration.
I don’t think happiness is the main goal. Not on this earth.
Realize, IF Elizabeth lived, it was with a very hard consequences of her calling. HER CALLING HURT.
Her only son left for ministry
He lived in the desert for a long time
He was taken prisoner
He died a violent death
HER CALLING HURT.
Did the Lord mess up? Did He fail to fulfill His promise? Once again, if our view is only this earth, it would seem so.
But our perspective as believers in Jesus is SO MUCH BIGGER. THIS is just the prelude. The front porch. The entrance.
We can answer of the hard call here, because our viewpoint reaches so much further.
Hebrews 11:13 ESV These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.
As we face another new year, it’s time for us to ask:
Lord what do you have for me? Is it hard?
Then please help me do it.
Have we, in our lifetime, ever seen the world more in need of our faithfulness?
Sister, we’ve a call in the second half of life.
Have you heard God’s call, even if you don’t see how it could possibly happen?
If we each answer the callings the Lord gives, even if they seem small and insignificant at the time, or if they seem impossibly difficult, it will matter.
JUST THINK how much that would add up to!
Luke 1:45- And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord." ...