My Call

written by Deborah Oakley

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I think, before I go further in my story, I need to explain what I believe God asked of me when He called me.  And yes, it was a call on my life, and not just one task.  If you don’t understand this, you likely won’t understand why I’ve made the some of the decisions I’ve made in the ensuing years.

He said, “I’m going to do a new thing with you.”  He didn’t specify what that new thing was.  He really didn’t give me much information at all, at least not that I understood.  He gave me Isaiah 55:

Isaiah 55 “Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters;
And you who have no money come, buy and eat.
Come, buy wine and milk
Without money and without cost.
2 “Why do you spend money for what is not bread,
And your wages for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,
And delight yourself in abundance.
3 “Incline your ear and come to Me.
Listen, that you may live;
And I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
According to the faithful mercies shown to David.
4 “Behold, I have made him a witness to the peoples,
A leader and commander for the peoples.
5 “Behold, you will call a nation you do not know,
And a nation which knows you not will run to you,
Because of the Lord your God, even the Holy One of Israel;
For He has glorified you.”

6 Seek the Lord while He may be found;
Call upon Him while He is near.
7 Let the wicked forsake his way
And the unrighteous man his thoughts;
And let him return to the Lord,
And He will have compassion on him,
And to our God,
For He will abundantly pardon.
8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord.
9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways
And My thoughts than your thoughts.
10 “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
And do not return there without watering the earth
And making it bear and sprout,
And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater;
11 So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth;
It will not return to Me empty,
Without accomplishing what I desire,
And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.
12 “For you will go out with joy
And be led forth with peace;
The mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you,
And all the trees of the field will clap their hands.
13 “Instead of the thorn bush the cypress will come up,
And instead of the nettle the myrtle will come up,
And it will be a memorial to the Lord,
For an everlasting sign which will not be cut off.”

That really doesn’t give specifics about what I’m supposed to do, does it?  What it DOES seem to say is that I’m supposed to listen and follow.  Where?  I don’t know.  I don’t know what God’s doing. I don’t know where we’re going.  I just know He asked me to follow.

So, my response was this:  “If You’re taking me somewhere new, and I don’t even know where or what it is, then I can’t possibly map out the route to get there.  Do I have that right?” 

He said, “Yes.”

I said, “Okay, I’m in.”

I did more than simply agree in private.  I got together with some Christian friends, told them what I thought God was saying to me.  We prayed together, and then they witnessed the vow I gave God.  I vowed to follow Him wherever He was taking me.  I agreed that He knew better than I, and that He could accomplish more and better through me than I could accomplish on my own.  I vowed to set aside my own plans for my life and follow His.  Not just for a period of time.  For the remainder of my existence, and that’s something that stretches far beyond my time on this side of the grass.  “To Infinity and Beyond!”

So, as my story progresses and you ask, “Deb, why didn’t you just … ?” or “Deb, why did you stay/leave?”  Really, any question that starts with, “Why did you … ?”  My answer is always the same.  “God said, and I promised.”

If a man makes a vow to the Lord, or takes an oath to bind himself with a binding obligation, he shall not violate his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.  (Numbers 30:2)

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