Responding to God’s call

By Jessica Brodie

Have you ever heard the voice of God?

Some of us hear God audibly. Others feel a firm and unmistakable nudge within, a sense they can’t possibly ignore. Some say God talks to them through visions or dreams, while others just know in their heart—what my friend calls our “knower,” the Holy Spirit within us—what God wants us to do.

Rest assured: God is not silent and never has been, and all of us who believe can hear him at some point or another.

The question becomes: What do we do when we hear God’s call?

That’s what strikes me about so many of the stories in this month’s edition of the Advocate—the way people respond when they know God calls. Ben Willis (“Answering the Call,” Page 1) knew exactly what he needed to do when he heard, at 73 years old, God speak to him audibly for the first time in his life. He felt compelled to step up and say, “Yes, Lord, here I am. Use me.” Likewise, Anne Bridgers and her team at Port Royal United Methodist Church (“More Than a Meal,” Page 1) heard God telling them what to do when he sent a representative from Second Helpings to talk to them about starting a food ministry at their church. Bishop Leonard Fairley is responding to a word God gave him in implementing our conference’s new Jeremiah teams (“Bishop Names Members of New ‘Jeremiah Teams,’” Page 1).

The list goes on and on.

Sometimes, God calls us to do things that are uncomfortable and difficult. Other times, that call feels natural, a perfect next step to what we’ve already been inching toward.

But one thing we know for certain is that there’s really only one answer when we get a word, and that’s to say, “Yes.”

Can you imagine if Paul, after Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus, went right back to persecuting Jews? Can you imagine if Mary, when visited by Gabriel the Archangel, decided to pass on the opportunity to be the mother of Jesus Christ, our savior? Can you imagine if Peter, told to feed God’s sheep and tend his lambs, decided to simply go back to fishing instead?

As we begin a new year, I invite you to take a look at how God might be speaking to you. If you can’t hear his voice, listen harder. Might he be speaking into your dreams or sending visions instead, or whispering to you through that deep and secret nudge within your heart? What is God urging you to do right now? And how might you be able to join with other members of the body of Christ, God’s church, to fulfill that call?

God has gifted us with an amazing connection that we share with others, the people who are called Methodists. Let’s listen to what God is saying and respond—together.

“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’”— Isaiah 6:8 (NIV)