To Answer The Call We Must Hear His Voice
In order to answer the call, we must hear the voice of the One who calls . . .
As I am writing this post, I remembered many years ago going to a party, and one of my friends was trying to get my attention. But the music was so loud that I could not hear him. Eventually, when I got close enough, he told me how long he were trying to get my attention. Ever so often I would remember this as it speaks volumes as to why so many of us are unable to hear the voice of God; simply because our lives are filled with too much noise and clutter.
Our God is not one who will shout at us. In the Book of Revelations chapter 3, verse 20 the word of God tells us,
behold I am standing at the door knocking. If one of you hears me calling and open the door, I will come in and share his meal side by side with him.
See that! If one of you hear me calling and open the door. . . God is constantly calling out to us, in every situation, in every circumstance, He is calling. If we hear Him calling and open the door of our hearts and our minds to Him, then He can and will come into our situations and our circumstances and instruct us in the way we should go. We must first hear God calling in order to answer the call. If your lives are cluttered with noise, if our lives are surrounded with distractions, then just like me many years ago at that party who did not hear my friend calling out to me, neither will you hear God calling out to you, let alone answer the call.
In the Old Testament there is a story about the Prophet Elijah that will tell us or give us an idea of how God speaks. In the first book of Kings, the Prophet Elijah fled into a cave because the people of Israel turned away from God, broke down all the alters and killed the prophets. They were out to kill Elijah as well. While he was in that cave the voice of God spoke to him and told him go and stand on the mountain before Yahweh. Elijah did as he was told.
Then there came a mighty wind, so strong it tore the mountains and shattered the rocks before Yahweh. But Yahweh was not in the wind. After the wind came an earthquake but Yahweh was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire but Yahweh was not in the fire. And after the fire there came the sound of a gentle breeze. When Elijah heard this he covered his face with his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. (1 Kings 19: 8 – 13)
As I read this passage, my mind fell on those who are constantly looking for the next wave of excitement to ride and on those who find Holy Mass boring. ‘Its the same thing over and over again.’ So they leave the Church and try to satisfy their “thirst for excitement” not recognizing that it is really a hunger for holiness. As they move from one ‘excitement’ to the next, they find that God is not there. They become party animals going to all the parties there are, but God was not in the parties. They go from one relationship to another, only to be more broken while the emptiness deep inside grows and grows, because God was not in the relationships. If God is not in it, it will never satisfy your deepest hunger. It will only leave you more empty and more disillusioned. This story of Elijah’s encounter with God drives the point home that God speaks to us in the stillness of our hearts. He does not shout! Unless you experience that stillness, you won’t really be able to hear His sweet voice calling out to you, and you won’t be able to answer the call – what ever it might be.
Be still and know that I am God. (Psalm 46:10)
Again, I need to reiterate that when I speak of hearing the voice of God, or of answering the call, I am not only speaking about hearing the voice of God calling you to the priesthood or to the religious life, but hearing the voice of God speaking to you, guiding you in your everyday decisions. Keep in mind that none of us are here by accident. All of us are here for a specific purpose. Every single one of us! That purpose is inscribed deep within our being. It is what we hunger for – often times without even knowing it. Unless we hear that voice within, and answer the call, our lives will be unfulfilled. So be it that our calling is to become a doctor, or to become a lawyer; to become a politician or to become a teacher; to become a priest or to become an engineer; to live a single life or to be married; all of us are part of God’s plan. It is therefore important for us to know the role that we play in his master plan; and we get to know this through prayer and learning to be still. If we go through our lives without knowing this, then no matter how hard we try to hide or cover it up, our lives will be empty and we will experience a great sense of disillusionment. It is what it is.
Brother Valentino in his classic calypso from many years ago sang, “Life is a stage and we are the actors, and everybody has a part to portray.” If our hearts are open to God and we play our part, in other words, we hear and we answer the call, then we would have participated in his plan of building his kingdom here on earth.
Heavenly Father, grant us all the grace to hunger for holiness more than anything in this world. May your grace so consume us that we both hear your voice and answer the call you have placed in our hearts. We ask this through Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen
