Doves On Distant Oaks

Many years ago, I saw a Christian rock band in concert. The band has since split up because the lead singer decided there was missionary work he felt God was calling him to do. Before he left, though they played wonderful music. They played some softer ballads, but the bulk of their music got the audience jumping with loud rock songs. That's not really my style, through I appreciate the niche they filled by appealing to younger people. I'll raise my hands and sing along … but jumping? I don't do jumping.

There was one moment during their concert that just washed over me as a holy moment. They appeared to have just finished one song. Their lead singer was standing center stage, head down, just playing short guitar riffs that didn't seem connected. This went on several minutes, which can seem like hours when there's no real song being played. Suddenly he turned to the band, spoke a few words, and they kicked off into their next song.

After the song, he came to the microphone and explained that sometimes he had to wait to hear what song the Lord was telling him that the band needed to play next. Chill bumps ran up my arms when he said that. Here I was, often complaining that God doesn't speak loudly enough to me, and this young man is standing in the middle of load music playing around him … hearing the Lord to speak to him.

It reminded me of the apostle Peter when Jesus walked on the water. There was Peter, standing next to the gunwales of a boat, in the middle of a frightening storm, and seeing what he thought was the Lord out in the middle of the maelstrom. The story is pretty well known—Peter stepped out of the boat and walked across the water to his Lord, until he took his eyes of Jesus. What's not often mentioned is that he first made sure it was Jesus, and then told Him to bid him come.

Before Peter stepped out, I would hazard a guess that the wind was howling and the waves were crashing against the boat. Rain likely lashed against Peter's eyes and it was probably pitch-black because it was the fourth watch of the night. He probably squinted into the dark storm and thought, Is that Jesus? He didn't step immediately out … he said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water" (Matthew 14:28). He was waiting for the Lord to command him.

We all want to step out of the boat and be used by God in our Christian walk. Some of us know what form that takes, while others continue to listen for it. They may even listen the greater part of their lives, held in the grip of inactivity, never certain they have heard it. Others participate in ministries without ever having heard the Lord. The question that needs to be asked is: are we called to do something? It's the calling that's important because we need to remain in His will, not our own.

We must separate a calling from personal desire. The latter is susceptible to our own pride, conceit, jealousies, need for attention, self-gratification, or any of a variety of human aspirations that are worldly bound. Only Jesus can call us, sometimes softly, sometimes in a raucous storm or even the middle of a rock concert.

Regardless of how we are called, unless we are, we would be working outside of His will instead of within it. How can we tell? Because we are never content if we are not doing what He hand-picked us to do. Because we would not be bearing fruit that remains instead of that which withers. Because we would be sinking, instead of walking on water—something we feel inside our hearts.




Keywords: Calling, Fruit, Heart


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