A higher calling, perhaps?

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Psalms 19:1-4a NLT 

The heavens tell of the glory of God. 

The skies display his marvelous craftsmanship.

Day after day they continue to speak; 

night after night they make him known.

They speak without a sound or a word; 

their voice is silent in the skies;

yet their message has gone out to all the earth, 

and their words to all the world.

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This has and will always be one of the most beautiful psalms ever written. I tend to read it quite a lot and I think by now the words are not just in the Bible ~ they're in my heart too. It still blows my mind each time I think about it. God's immense glory and beauty is perfectly portrayed in all that He created. Somehow, I can catch a glimpse of God's splendor and majesty just by beholding the work of His hands. What a priceless gift!

Beautiful how though seemingly limited, everything God created perfectly shows forth His Glory. David in writing this psalm I believe had experienced something so tremendous and powerful. All he did was consider everything that God had made. He looked up, and the evidence of His Creator was right there in the heavens. They spoke to him of the Glory of God. They had no arms, no feet, no speech...yet with all these "insufficiencies", they fulfilled their higher calling. Check this:

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Romans 1:20 RSV

Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

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What struck me most was how efficient the heavens, the skies and the sun are in fulfilling their divine mandate. A king literally mused and composed an entire psalm! If by any chance we switched places and I took their place, I'm pretty sure I'd spend half the time grumbling over my apparent insufficiencies. 

I have no feet, and I'm miles away from the people...how can I reach them when I can't even move? I can't speak...how do I call their attention? These people won't even look up...their busy lives won't let them. They're too engrossed in their devices, laughing about anything and everything, living their best lives. Can't I at least have one of their abilities so I can relate with them?

On second thought though, reading this psalm made me realize that they actually had everything they needed. They're just perfect. They're exactly where they should be and that in itself is enough to enable them to accomplish what their Creator tasked them with. 

About the sun the psalmist says, 

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Psalms 19.4b - 6 NLT 

The sun lives in the heavens where God placed it.

It bursts forth like a radiant bridegroom after his wedding. 

It rejoices like a great athlete eager to run the race.

The sun rises at one end of the heavens 

and follows its course to the other end. 

Nothing can hide from its heat.

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Again, if I were the sun, it'd be hard to believe that there's a higher calling for me. I'd probably hate myself for shining so bright sometimes that people curse under their breaths when it's too hot; albinos can't even withstand the slightest bit of heat and light, people get sunburns, and whatever other lame excuse I can think of. 

I see it differently now. Even the position of the sun is a message in itself. If it dares defy the Creator's command and moves closer to the earth for whatever reason, the earth will probably become uninhabitable. Because it lives up to its task, we have a chance to live up to ours too. 

What I love most about the psalmist's description of the sun is its eagerness, willingness and cheerfulness in doing what it knows to do best. If the sun can find pleasure in its seemingly monotonous task (I'd find it boring honestly - doing the same old thing day in and day out), how much more joy are we to portray as we do our Father's will? 

Oftentimes we as believers tend to discredit ourselves when God directs us to serve Him in a particular way. We think to ourselves that if perhaps we were on a pulpit, or financially more stable, or spiritually more mature, or older in terms of age, or with better abilities (be it at speaking, singing, writing, etc), or with someone to hold our hand, we would then obey the call of the Great Commission. We fail to 'go' simply because we deem ourselves unfit. We focus on what we do not have and lose sight of that which the Father has placed in our hands. 

Take Moses, for example. All he saw were his insufficiencies ~ everything that disqualified him from carrying out that task God gave him. He deemed Himself so inadequate that he asked, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" Then, "What if they don't believe me or listen to me and say, 'The LORD did not appear to you'?". A few verses later, "I have never been eloquent...I am slow of speech and tongue." Eventually he pleads, "Lord, please! Send someone else." 

What I love most about these questions is that they come from a very authentic heart. I am opined that everyone who's doing genuine ministry has in many ways and on different occasions asked God these very questions and has eventually tried to plead the fifth. Everything that Moses said was true, but God in His unfathomable wisdom still saw it fit to send Moses as Israel's deliverer. He was well acquainted with Moses' insufficiencies, yet still found him worthy to carry out that task. 

In response to the first question He says, "I will be with you." In response to the second He asks, "What is that in your hand?" To the third, He rebukes Moses for finding fault in how God had created Him, then says, "Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say." To the fourth, He appoints Aaron, Moses' brother, to be his spokesman. 

It breaks the Father heart when we limit Him and think that He cannot use us as we are and where we are. More often than not we try to remove ourselves from the places He specifically positioned us and end up interfering with the flow of grace. Like the sun, the heavens and the skies, we are to remain in our designated positions, and there shine the light of God's Glory, that all may see it and glorify Him. Where you are is where He needs you to be. 

Concerning our inadequacies, He asks, "What have I not given you?" In all honesty, He has fully equipped us for the mandate, otherwise He wouldn't send us. That staff in your hand is just what He requires of you. You don't need more. All you have is all He needs, just as long as it's surrendered to Him. All He wants you to do is to let His Spirit have His way in you. It's not about who you are but who is with you. Paul captures this so well:

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2Corinthians 3:5 AMP

Not that we are fit (qualified and sufficient in ability) of ourselves to form personal judgments or to claim or count anything as coming from us, but our power and ability and sufficiency are from God. 

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Now you might want to be a little more stubborn and say that though the heavens, the skies and the sun are so faithful in fulfilling their higher calling, there's not much result. The average Christian may not necessarily find God glorified as much in nature and in all other creation. Not many people think of creation from this perspective, sorry to say. 

So, what if I told you that it's not yours to worry about? Scripture says: their message has gone out to all the earth, and their words to all the world. Simply put, whoever cares to find God and catch a glimpse of His glory and beauty will seek Him. In seeking Him he/she will find the evidence of His immense glory all around; every sunset, every clear blue sky, every ocean wave, the starry host of the night... He blankets each day with the invitation: I AM HERE. 

The beauty is that in the heart of every man is a desire to see that glory, and somehow get to partake of it. Even better is that this glory has been made available to every one of us. For the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14 NIV).

God is closer to us than we think. He has made it possible for us to find Him. Whether it'll take a friend to witness to us about the goodness of God and the love of Jesus Christ, or that we'll see it ourselves in nature all around us, my prayer is that we will not cease to reach out for Him; more importantly, that we will find Him. Scripture says: 

 

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Acts 17:26 - 28 NIV

From one man he made every nation of men, 

that they should inhabit the whole earth; 

and he determined the times set for them 

and the exact places where they should live.

God did this so that men would seek him 

and perhaps reach out for him and find him, 

though he is not far from each one of us.

'For in him we live and move and have our being.' 

As some of your own poets have said, 

'We are his offspring.'

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The enemy craftily preoccupies people's minds so much so that they're not even aware that God is all around them, patiently waiting on them to reach out to Him so He'd make Himself known to them. Another of his strategies is to preoccupy us with our inadequacies so we'd fail to reveal God's glory and beauty to those around us. 

Unlike every other thing that God made, we have a voice. We can move. We enjoy relationship at different levels with one another. We are like God. We reflect His glory and bear the very stamp of His nature. It should be so much easier for us to fulfil our higher calling, don't you think? To go out there and seek the one that needs saving...to impact that one soul, that friend, relative, colleague at work, a fellow comrade maybe?

I think it's time you and I talk to that random stranger about the love of Christ...to tell that wayward friend that only Jesus truly satisfies...to pray unceasingly for the redemption of souls from the grip of the enemy. It's time to get out of your comfort zone. Be that clear blue sky to someone today. Tell them how much the Lord has done for you. Share in the joy that the heavens, the skies and the sun have simply by fulfilling their higher calling. 

The sole purpose of the entirety of creation is to reveal God's glory. That's the higher calling. Everything that exists doesn't just exist ~ there is a mandate to fulfil. Creation speaks of the glory and majesty of God. Creation proclaims to the ends of the earth all His awesome deeds. How much more does God expect from us, the most special of all He made? 

Don't let the enemy preoccupy you with a list of all your shortcomings. Remind him that it's not even about you, but He who lives in you. He wants to glorify Himself in your life. All this comes from God - it has nothing to do with you. You no longer live ~ Christ lives in you. For this reason, let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:16).

As for me and my house, we will let our light shine. 😊