What has God Called You to Be?

What God has called you to be, the devil will tempt you with something similar – yet lacking any actual vitality or life. This has happened all through history as men and women have endured their lives, sinking deeper into the depths of quiet desperation without ever coming to that place of casting off the shackles of this world and walking free in Christ.

Do you want examples of this? Consider Adam and Eve. They fell to the temptation offered by the devil to become like God. Do you think God didn’t want them to be like Him? Do you think that the Divine Creator was without the purpose to bring them into the fantastic wonder of unity with Himself? We’re told to be “imitators of God!” Of course God wanted them to become like Him. So what does the enemy of our souls devise? A temptation that is so similar in purpose that they just don’t refuse. Only one catch: they have to reject God.

What about our Lord Jesus, Himself? He was and is and will forever be the King of kings and Lord of lords. That is what the Father purposed for Him. But stand upon the mountain bluff with Him and listen to the temptation of the enemy: “I will give you all of this.”All Jesus had to do was give in to the temptation and the devil promised Him the “kingdoms of the world.” No cross… no beatings… no rejection by the human race. It was a similar prospect, but without any of the Divine component.

And so goes the human race today. How many are called to become faithful followers of Jesus? How many are urged by God to surrender to the Savior and yet the devil comes along and says, “Just have religion, just go to church, say you believe in God and that’ll be enough.” So the church is filled with quietly desperate people who wonder why their lives are void of power and empty of purpose. All the while, the enemy sits back and laughs at the powerless expressions of the most powerful entity on earth – the church.

I’ve known men who were called and gifted to become preachers of righteousness and yet have given themselves over to be little more than motivational speakers. How many men and women are called by God to become missionaries and all they are, as they travel this globe, are tourists! It’s like eating your fill of candy that stuffs you up but never gives life to your body. The devil will offer you the candy of self-fulfillment to keep you from ever experiencing the full meal of total surrender to Jesus.

People—even Christians—are living today without ever being fully alive. They walk and move and live and eat and sleep and yet there is that nagging suspicion that there is more, that something was lost, misplaced along the way. Stop! Come to grips with it right now. Do as the Apostle Paul urged the church to do, “Wake up, O sleeper, and rise up from the dead.” Do as the prodigal son did and realize that it is better by far to be a servant in the Father’s house than a servant to the world. Both are servants, but only one fulfills—and only one has the clear distinction of being rightly related to God.

Peter reminds us: “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.” (2 Peter 1:3-4).

What has God called you to be, and have you embraced the devil’s offer instead? Let me urge you to cast off the devil’s lie that what he offers is good enough. Yield in total surrender to Jesus. It is time to participate in the “divine nature” and leave behind the corruption of this world, which is nothing more than a mirage.

Humbly Yours,

Michael