God’s Call Is Specifically for You 

Recently I was driving through southwest Tennessee on my way to a Bible conference when I found myself on a highway I had not traveled on before. I noticed from a couple of signs that this particular stretch of road had been given the name “Rockabilly Highway.” Therefore I wasn’t surprised when a few moments later I passed a small business advertising that they sold “custom turkey calls.” Not being a hunter, and with nothing else to do as I made my journey, I mused for a few minutes about how turkey calls might be customized. I assumed the sign was indicating that these hunting tools could be produced in a certain style, size, or with other details as specified by the one who would use them. However, I also whimsically wondered if it could be customized for the particular turkey or type of turkey a person might be trying to call. Was it customized for the hunter or for the turkey, for the caller or for the callee?

We sometimes refer to God’s call in reference to His reaching out to us. We might think about His call to salvation, as He shows a person his need to repent of sin and to put his trust in Jesus as his Savior. However, we might rightly relate God’s call to additional matters too, such as the call to follow Him, the call to holiness, and the call to serve Him. We have tended to especially use the word “calling” in connection with preachers, evangelists, and missionaries who have received a clear sense of God directing them into those types of ministries.

In one sense, God’s call is universal. It goes out to everyone. He extends His invitation to eternal life to “whoever” will hear and receive it. Nevertheless, I believe it is also a customized call. God deals with each of us individually. He knows us personally and is aware of everything about us. We aren’t just a faceless member of the human race to Him. He knows our name. He knows the number of hairs on our heads. And while His call goes out to everyone, it also goes out to each one of us by name. It isn’t like the piece of mail we receive addressed to the current resident, whoever that might be. No, God’s call to each one of us is like a handwritten letter with our name on it. It is personal. It is meant just for us.

When Jesus encountered Saul on the road to Damascus, He didn’t yell out, “Hey, you!”  He called him by name, saying, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” Likewise, the Lord calls us by name. While there may be similarities in how the Lord deals with different people, He also treats us individually. The One who created me knows how I am. He knows my tendencies, my weaknesses, my strengths, my struggles. His call is tailormade just for me. His Spirit deals with me in the unique ways that I need to be dealt with. Some of us may need a quiet whisper to get our attention while others may require God to holler in a bullhorn to get through to us. God knows what we need and adjusts the call to best reach out to us.

Let’s listen for God’s call to us – not just His call to the world in general, but for His specific call to you and to me. He calls you to repent of sin and to be saved. He calls you to follow Him. He calls you to be holy. He calls you to serve Him in some way. It’s a call directed specifically at you. And only you can answer it. Will you?