Confidence in the Caller

When I was younger, my dad would call out to me. “Jump”, he would say, and down I went. No thought of the danger. No concern for what I would encounter should I hit the ground. I wouldn't. Dad was calling, so it was safe. As I grew, I gained more and more confidence in my dad. He was strong, able, and safe. This confidence was big. I would have followed him anywhere he called and done anything he asked. We lived in an area of bluffs my first six years of life. Our family would take walks on those bluffs and dad would walk right up to the cliff’s edge. He would call, “Come here.” Then he would pick me up, turn me upside down, and hang me over the edge. (Yes, even now he thinks he was crazy for doing it!) The view was great, and the rush through your stomach, catching your breath…it was incredible! Why, though, did I know that he wouldn't drop me? Why did I have confidence in him?

     Confidence is a prior experience or knowledge of faithfulness by someone. I had confidence in my dad because he had been faithful to keep me safe in the past. However, I didn't place my confidence in the idea or path that he was calling me to. He called and, because I placed confidence in him, I was obedient to his calling.

     In life, our confidence cannot be placed in the decisions and callings that Christ directs us too.  We can, however, put our confidence in the One doing the calling. Like David said in 1 Samuel 17:34-37,

“But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him. Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.” And David said, “The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the LORD be with you!’”

     The Bible never says that David had confidence in his calling…he wasn't sure how everything would work out. It doesn't say that he wasn't nervous or scared. Maybe he had got the calling wrong and maybe he wasn't sure what the next step was. On his way down to the battlefield, he might have even second guessed the calling. BUT…he never questioned the Caller. He knew of God’s faithfulness because of his prior experience with the lion and the bear. Those were huge problems and events in his life. At that time, he might have thought that they were the hardest thing he would ever do. Looking back, while staring at Goliath, they probably didn't seem that big. They were confidence builders for his battle. David knew the calling and had confidence in the Caller. He completed his portion of the task, which was to kill Goliath, and then stepped aside as God called others to finish the battle.

     We should react no differently when we are feeling called to something. No matter who believes in the calling or who doubts our feelings, we must take that step forward. Knowing that He has been faithful in our prior experiences, we obey the calling with our confidence placed in the Caller.

Food for Thought:

What prior experience gives you confidence in the Caller? What is the Caller pushing you to do to continue building your confidence in Him for those bigger experiences that are coming?