As I talk to others about their call, I repeatedly hear them describe their initial resistance to the call. I can’t say that I ever spent much time resisting God’s call in my life. I think in my case sensing God’s call in my life provided my life with significance. I guess I did occasionally ask the question as to whether there was anything else I might be interested in doing but there never was any strong resistance from the time I was in junior high.
I think my case may have been unusual, however. I once heard another pastor suggest that you should resist the call as much as possible and then and only then should you accept it. I think his point was that authentic ministry involves a lot of stress and not a small measure of suffering so only enter it if you’ve considered all the other options and not found a satisfying alternative.
It does seem to me that resistance or arguing with God over the call is biblically authentic. Moses (Exodus 4:1-18) and Jeremiah (1:4-10) are prominent examples. And while not so obvious, one could even see the story of Jesus’ temptation as a version of resistance. It was certainly a refining of the call in a manner that defied common wisdom.
Consider what you are cooperating with when you accept God’s call. You are opening yourself to being touched by the infinite. You are drawn towards the future by a voice from beyond time. If you take that seriously, there is no way that that shouldn’t make you nervous if not terrified. It is an audacious claim to suggest that you are being addressed and shaped by a power outside of the confines of time.
