One night, I had a dream.  I dreamed that men broke into the bedroom where I grew up and confronted me about my faith.  They proclaimed that if I didn’t denounce Jesus, I would be tortured and eventually killed.  They began with nails and progressed from there.  Yet I never gave in.  However, as the final act came, I began to doubt, and… then I woke.  And I have never known what my final decision would be.

In my career, I’ve had seasons that felt like torture and had to choose whether to continue to minister or to give up.  During these times, I have remained (though once by the skin of my teeth), and what has allowed this was my call.  I have clung to the fact that God called me to this ministry and has not yet called me away.

I agree that everyone is called to minister, but there is something special about the call to professional pastoral ministry.  And while there are good arguments to be made that “professional pastoral ministry” is not a God-given ministry at all, I believe that He uses the clay He has, and so calls us to that ministry.  I’ve met many ministers who cannot identify a call, and I would say they are probably not called.  This is not a judgement about their ministry, but when the hard times come, I wonder to what they will cling?

Jeremiah was in prison, under house arrest, and even thrown in an empty well to die, yet when asked to share the Word of God, he never wavered.  Doom and gloom though it was, it was God’s message and he could give no other.  I would beg good money that what kept him honest and going was his call.  I cannot imagine following God through the pain through which He calls us without it.

To whom do you listen?  I don’t mean your choice in music or podcast.  By “listen”, I mean it like we use it for our kids when we say, “listen to me!”  Whom do you obey?

I wonder how frustrating it is for God when we listen to others but not to Him.  When we listen to “popular opinion” or “famous personality” or “voice of authority” but don’t listen to God, it must be mystifying to Him.  He created these people, He sees how they developed, and He has the words of life.  Not only does He see how bad the advice we receive is, but He also knows the pain following it will cause.  Not only does He know that His words are true, but He knows the blessings that following them will bring.

Jeremiah becomes the bearer of this very news to the Rekabites.  They have developed a family culture around the command their ancestor received and passed on to not drink any wine.  This is not a bad thing to do; in fact it’s probably a very good thing to do and follow.  That’s not the point this time.  The problem is not that they are following bad people or doing bad things.  The problem is that they are NOT following God.  Their ability to obey their ancestor’s command shows that they can obey.  Their unwillingness to obey God’s command shows that it is not inability but disobedience.

How are you at following orders?  And whose orders do you follow?  Are you successful on a diet, or a gluten free lifestyle?  Are you working out regularly, or current on your Fantasy Football team?  The next question is how is your bible reading going, or your prayer life, or your attendance at church events?  If you can manage to watch every football game of your favorite team, then you can go to church every week.  If you can stick to a diet then you can stick to your bible reading.  If you can visit your family regularly, then you can care for the poor on a regular basis.

If you can follow the path of others, then what’s keeping you from following the path of God?