Calling and Freedom

It is interesting that many of the people I love and trust most have the hardest time 'knowing the will of God'.  These folks are submitted to their Lord beyond comfort, beyond ease, and so are willing to do whatever.  They pray prayers like, “I'll do whatever, Lord, just lead me”.  And then they wait for direction.  It seems to rarely come, and thus many of my friends feel trapped in some spiritual doldrums.  They wish to obey, wish to do great things, to honor God and follow His every beck and call- yet His beckoning seems obscure, and His call abstract. And in some cases, silent.

I'm reading first and second Samuel, and the stories of the kings have long engaged my heart.  Saul, anointed as king in a chance encounter with the prophet Samuel, is instructed specifically to do several things.  You will go here and meet these folks and do these sacrifices and prophecy.  I imagine Saul, oil still dripping from his brow, nodding, mouth agape, stunned.  I'm king, and no one knows it; the highest spiritual authority in the land just told me so, and gave me homework.  He can barely take it in.  One of those moments in which you store information to think through later, because while the moment persists, you simply cannot process what is happening.

But Samuel finishes instructing Saul as though attempting to induce vocational whiplash.  He says, "Now when these signs meet you, do what your hand finds to do, for God is with you.  Then go down to Gilgal..."  and the specific instructions continue.

But they don't continue for long, and that one line I believe holds the key to our understanding of vocation and calling.

Saul was anointed for a specific task.  And he knew it, because he was told.  But in other matters, he was 'instructed' (read: freed) to do 'what your hand finds to do.'  His hand.  Not his conscience, his theologies, his rabbis, his intellect.  His hand.  That's about as far from a 'theological discernment of vocation' as we can get.  Do whatever you end up doing.  Why?   Because the Lord is with you.

I would feel very secure with a checklist.  And apparently, God sometimes uses them.  Jesus tells some to sell everything, others to go home.  But still others He simply joins for dinner and celebrates their unsolicited responses as righteous.

I so greatly fear that my response, my life, my worship will be inadequate.  Probably because I have an accurate perception of my iniquity [my inborn proclivity to failure].  I will never be, do, say enough.  And despair would be an appropriate response, were it not for grace.

Saul is freed to do whatever he will do simply because God is with him.  After Samuel speaks, Saul turns to go, and the scripture says that "God gave him another heart."  Just like that.  Unmerited, by previous behavior nor (clearly) by future obedience.  God, in His benevolence to Saul and to His people, acted, and so Saul was changed, and freed, according to Samuel's words.

Saul must wait to become king, and David after him waits much longer.  A calling does not always produce immediate change or position; it is simply a setting of course, be it through storm or sunshine.  Thus patience and obedience is the proper response to a life with the Lord.  You are more than likely confident in some form of calling on you by God, if you know Him.  So press on into what you know.

But for those areas in which we are not sure, in the eighty-percent of life that we just can't make head nor tail of, we have a hope and a freedom to act as we see fit.  For if we are in Christ, we have been chosen, anointed, called, and freed to do...  whatever our hands find to do.  For we are new creations, with new hearts, and God is with us.



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Some parameters:  Saul ultimately crumbled.  Thus, the freedom Samuel offered was not the freedom to do whatever he wanted.  Neither is our freedom.  Saul's freedom was instead limited by scripture, by community, by spiritual authority, and by prayer.  So is ours, and we should come to these sources of direction first when faced with major decisions.  However, direction is not always forthcoming, or clear, from these sources; then we must choose between floundering in indecisive despair and stepping forward in freedom.  Fearful indecision places our hope and salvation in making the right decision, while walking in freedom (if submitted to the Lord in the many ways He does direct) trusts in His goodness to lead us, and to redeem even our missteps.  Freedom is contingent on our submission to the Lord, but relies and hopes in His sovereign love.  Any claim to freedom that disobeys standing direction is therefore illegitimate, and unholy.  It is, in fact, not freedom at all, but slavery to sin.