Responses to God's Call

Have you ever run from God's calling?  I have--more times that I would like to admit.  My object is never to actually disobey God, but I protest and grumble and ask Him why He couldn't have thought of someone older or wiser or less ignorant or less feeling to do His bidding in a particular situation.  It really is rather like the conversation Moses had with God before going to get the children of Israel (Ex. 3-4).

The thought crossed my mind to call this the Moses Complex.  But that really is too dignified a name for my problem.  It is merely the habit of making excuses.  And each of these excuses, if we look closely enough, bears another name.  Laziness, pride, selfishness, miserliness, cowardice, faithlessness, and rebellion are just a few of their names.  On reading the conversation between Moses and God the other night, I was astonished to realize that God got angry with Moses over this bad habit of his (and mine).  It was not merely disappointment at this shy servant's reticence; it was anger over his determination to argue with the God of the universe! (Ex. 4:14)  I have no desire to rile the God of the universe myself, so I looked for other examples of responses to God's calling.  Here are the ones I have found:

• Samuel said, "Here am I" (I Sam. 3).
• Esther fasted and prayed before courageously going before the king without regard for her own safety (Es. 4)
• Job said, "Blessed be the name of the Lord" (Job 1:21).
• Jonah took flight (Jon. 1:1-3).
• Mary said, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord" (Lk. 1).
• Jesus said, "Not my will but thine be done" (Matt. 26).

There are many better responses to God's will than excuses and whining, and they serve as reminders to us to respond more heartily to God's call rather than following the examples of Moses and Jonah.  If you know of any examples that we ought to follow, please remind me of them!