I Am Called

But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, you descendants of Abraham my friend, I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you. I said, “You are my servant”; I have chosen you and have not rejected you.

—Isaiah 41:8–9

I imagine it was an ordinary day, not all that different from most of our days. Up before dawn. Stumble around getting dressed in the dark. Make a beeline for the programmable coffee pot.

Stop. Let’s just take a moment to thank the Lord in heaven for programmable coffee pots. Yes, and amen.

So maybe Simon Peter didn’t have a programmable coffee pot. But he must’ve grabbed something to eat and drink before he headed out the door for another long day of fishing.

That was his occupation. A fisherman. No college degree required. He’d likely learned the trade from his father, who had learned it from his father, and so on. It was hard, smelly work. But it paid the bills. And one can’t be choosy when it comes to paying the bills.

I can’t help but wonder if Simon ever dreamed of doing something more noble, more—how shall I say?—aromatic. But fishing was his calling.

Then an ordinary day turned extraordinary with the visit of a rabbi.

“As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. ‘Come, follow me,’ Jesus said, ‘and I will send you out to fish for people’” (Mark 1:16–17).

Come, follow me. No introductions or small talk, at least none Mark recorded. Instead, a radical invitation. To leave one calling for another. To abandon fish for people.

The Bible says Simon packed up and followed Jesus “at once” (v. 18). No hesitation or second thoughts. He heard the call and answered it. Period.

But I imagine his lack of doubts in that moment were multiplied in countless moments yet to come. Like when the religious leaders of the day mocked Jesus’ unlikely choice of disciples. When naysayers questioned the sanity of a fisherman who claimed that Jesus was God. And by the way, great leaders are supposed to choose the wise and affluent, the strong and intelligent. Not a common fisherman, right? Yet Jesus called Simon anyway.

I know what it’s like to have someone question my calling. Just hours before I wrote these words, I glanced at the online reviews for a podcast I’d recorded. I’ve recorded well over a hundred interviews and rarely read the reviews, but today I thought processing some feedback might help me improve.

Instead, I read a couple of harsh rebukes. Not constructive criticism, not even the honest feedback of someone who was less than a fan. Instead, individuals who questioned whether I have what it takes. Surrounding those verbal swords sat plenty of affirmations. But there’s something nearly debilitating about a single person who questions your calling. It cuts at the core, especially when made public.

It’s never fun to be on the receiving end of hurtful words. I may act tough, but the truth is criticism usually stirs up questions and self-doubts.

Especially now. Now that my speech is impaired and I struggle significantly to do what I love. Is a speaker who can’t speak without tremendous effort still qualified to speak? Do my lack of articulation and clarity disqualify me from my calling? Honestly, some days I wonder.

And yet the calling wasn’t mine. Just as Jesus stood on a beach and spoke to a fisherman, Jesus stands in front of us and speaks the same words: Come, follow me.

The calling has nothing to do with our qualifications. Jesus didn’t choose me to be a messenger of truth because I was polished and professional. He chose me because He wanted to. And He’s done the same for you. Jesus sees our willingness, and that is enough.

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9). Those are Peter’s words, spoken years after Jesus called him out of a boat and onto a dusty road. Follow Jesus he did. He may have had moments of doubt, but they were soon overshadowed by the confidence that comes when you know your calling is from God.

A chosen people. A called people.

Peter. And you and me.

Criticism and questions are part of the path. But if we keep our eyes focused on the one who leads the way, the voices of naysayers will fade away.

As long as I dwell on my own qualities and traits and think about what I am suited for, I will never hear the call of God. But when God brings me into the right relationship with Himself, I will be in the same condition Isaiah was. Isaiah was so attuned to God, because of the great crisis he had just endured, that the call of God penetrated his soul. The majority of us cannot hear anything but ourselves. And we cannot hear anything God says. But to be brought to the place where we can hear the call of God is to be profoundly changed.

—OSWALD CHAMBERS, MY UTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST