To Be His

by Karen Huber

“But now, by giving himself completely at the Cross, actually dying for you, Christ brought you over to God’s side and put your lives together, whole and holy in his presence. You don’t walk away from a gift like that! You stay grounded and steady in that bond of trust, constantly tuned in to the Message, careful not to be distracted or diverted. There is no other Message—just this one. Every creature under heaven gets this same Message. I, Paul, am a messenger of this Message.” (Colossians 1:22-23, The Message)

It’s fair to say that in the last year, I’ve been… distracted. We probably all have. And with distraction, comes doubt, and with doubt, questioning and angst and some tears and maybe a few sleepless nights. Like with any big pause, forced or otherwise, a hefty dose of reflection is needed. Prayers whispered in the dark of night often start with “What am I doing…?!” and end with “What are you doing…?!”

I’ve asked him what will happen.
I’ve asked him what we’re here for.
I’ve asked him when things will change.
I’ve asked him what I can do.
But I don’t know that I’ve asked him what he is calling me to do, or how my calling can adapt. I don’t even know that I’ve asked him what he calls me.

So I look it up:
He calls me beloved.
He calls me friend.
He says I am accepted.
He tells me I am free.
He says I am a child of God… His child. He says I am alive. Fully alive. Even now.

Like any good call, Jesus asks for my name, if I am here, if I can hear him now. The call he’s given me – the one he extends – he is a connection, a presence, an acknowledgment of our relationship, of who I am to him… and of who he is to me.

My calling has not changed, but in this time and space, it is compressed and simplified. The restrictions placed on our normal waking hours has released into freedom the calling of our birth-right in him.

He’s made room for me, as his child, to hear and answer.
To rest and know.
To seek and find.
To dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

May I not confuse course-correction and (re-)action with presence and relationship. His call is not a call to arms, but a call to be his. In that, I am right where – and who – I need to be.

Yours IN Him,

Karen Huber

For Reflection:

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:33-34, NIV)

1. What does God call you? Who does God say you are?
2. What is he calling you to, today? Not to do, but where or how is he calling you?