What It Means to Be Called by God: Lessons from Ezekiel

A call is a powerful experience. When you bring it down to its essence, it is an invitation to the natural to participate in the realm of the supernatural. It is God saying, “My child, I’m going to let you cross the temporal line and do some eternal work.”

When you say yes to the Holy Spirit’s lead, you will find your calling. And, yes, you do have a calling! The apostle Paul made it clear that every believer is gifted and charged by the Holy Spirit “for the profit of all” (1 Corinthians 12:7). He emphasized that point even more to the church in Ephesus, when he wrote that we all have been created to serve God, carrying out the “good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). Each of us can, and should, carry out our earthly and heavenly dual citizenship every day as we “set [our minds] on things above, not on things on the earth” (Colossians 3:2). Said another way, we live lives with a ministry mindset, always looking for opportunities to be used by God.

Why am I making such a big deal of this natural/supernatural nature of a call? Because that is exactly what God demonstrated in the first three chapters of Ezekiel. In fact, in a Bible full of dramatic first encounters with God, I don’t know that anyone’s was more dramatic than Ezekiel’s. Paul saw a bright light. Jacob wrestled with a guy. Isaiah had a somewhat less-spectacular throne room experience, if any throne room experience can be considered less spectacular.

Ezekiel, however, was alongside the Chebar River, minding his own beeswax, when suddenly everything went crazy. He saw amazing sights, heard incredible words, and received a divine commissioning. And by the time it was all over, there was no doubt in his mind that the ministry he would be carrying out amongst his fellow natural humans was at the behest of an all-powerful, totally “other,” supernatural God.

As we witness the calling of this prophet, there is no doubt that the One who called him is wholly different than we are. He is not a supersized, multi-gifted, human-like creature, similar to what you typically find in mythology. God is more than just a glorified man, as you find in Mormonism. And his intention, communication, and relationship set Him far beyond the impersonal god-force of Hinduism and Buddhism. In this throne-room theophany, we see a God who is giving us a glimpse behind the supernatural curtain. What we quickly realize, however, is that this is only a peek at the heavenly realm, and, even then, it has been significantly dumbed down so we have somewhat of a chance at grasping it.

Often, it is easy for us to take God for granted. We can sometimes lose sight of His otherness and let Him slip from all-powerful deity to all-loving pal. To battle against that, we must ensure that we include worship in our daily times with the Lord. We must give Him His due as the Almighty who has created and sustains all things, and as the all-merciful giver of the only salvation and hope that has the power to extend beyond this life.