Episode 83 - Don't chicken out on your calling
Sometimes when you have a lot of responsibility, when you feel the weight of said responsibility, sometimes it's just easier to not lean into that responsibility, yes? We shy away from it or even ignore it. The question then becomes, will we continue to walk down in disobedience? Or do we step up?
Today's episode talks about confidence. About a man named Saul who lacked confidence and was disobedient and really failed in his calling, and how we, as we're discovering our God-given purpose, can succeed in ours.
And we use the word succeed loosely because it's not us. It's all God.
Enjoy the story of Saul and learn how to stand firm in your calling and not chicken out.
We particularly love these examples from scripture of real people, real men, and real women who have failed, because they're relatable. We see ourselves in these stories. It also makes us realize that we can’t get ourselves out of the negative parts of the story, the cowardice, the identity issues, all of a sudden or on our own, without Christ who lives in us.
Saul had the same doubts: “Why me?” He even hid behind luggage to try to escape, but he eventually does accept his call, and he actually does step up and does some good things. At some point along the way, however, we can see Saul becoming a little lazy in his obedience, feeling the pressure of others around him and that’s when he started doing things his way.
He became a people pleaser and used that as an excuse to not obey God. Spoiler alert: God wasn't happy with that. One thing AJ and Jen could see in Saul - and that we really don't see in a lot of other places in scripture - is a level of cowardice. In the end, his disobedience caused him to lose his kingship.
“He's not leading the people in a courageous manner. He's being a coward and time and time again, this becomes the pattern of his life.”
Cowardice led Saul to keep walking on the path of disobedience and there is a lesson for us. We're all going to disobey to some extent, and we're all going to fail and we're all going to hide in the luggage at times. At some point in our lives, we're all going to do those things.
The question is, do we continue to walk in that disobedience? Or do we step up?
What is most important is faith in our God who can do all things through His character, His promises, His abilities, and His sovereignty.
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NOTABLE QUOTES
“Sometimes it's really hard to live [your calling] out or even break the news to those around us because they expect us to be something else. And I think that's a pattern we see in the life of Saul.” - Arabah Joy
“Saul was afraid to be who God had called him to be and do the task that God had given him to do because he thought other people saw him a certain way and we can also live by labels that other people give us.” - Arabah Joy
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