Do you suppose that when Elijah wasn’t being used by the Almighty that he was home fixing the roof, maybe building a fence or other things that needed to be done around the house?
Gideon was called, went to do what he was called to do and then went back to the business of everyday life.
“Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing.” (John 21:3)
Do you think Peter ever went fishing again?
The image, and many of the paintings we have by the old masters, of these people always seems to be one of a greatly reverential tone, flowing gray hair and robes billowing in the breeze, but rarely that of the average man called by the Most High to serve Him in sometimes extraordinary ways, still needing in part to fulfill and complete what are considered the ordinary tasks of life.
“Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are.” (James 5:17a)
I forget how many times those words are used about men called by the Almighty in the Scriptures, but they are there for a reason, because all of them were just like we are. If they were not self-employed, they had a day job, a trade or certain craft, even Paul was trained as a tent maker.
I don’t know about John the Baptist, but I doubt very much that he spent the first three decades of his life sitting around in camel’s hair waiting to be called.
Consider this my friends, we serve a Carpenter, trained so to speak, in the art of woodworking, who could have told you what type of tree He was crucified on.
“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2nd Tim. 2:15)
Unless you have been called by the Lord to be a preacher whose wages come from those who sit in the pews of his church, you probably have a job to bring some form of income into the house, rightly dividing the words of truth is not going to pay the electric bill. In some way, shape or form, your employment field is an opportunity to not only glorify the Living God, but to praise Him for the abilities that He has given you.
There is no dedication to the individual, company or corporation that we are employed by outside of that.
But the point of all this is this, we are to be prepared to leave everything if the Lord calls us to a specific task, and in this 1st John 4:1 must be strictly adhered to.
“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.”
Sometimes what we think is right is far from being so, if you have met any number of men who believe they have been called to be pastors, you know this as a truth. The heart is deceitful above all things, and if we allow our emotions to dictate that path we believe we are to be on, we may spend much time, years sometimes, being led astray by our emotions.
It does little good to allow someone who struggles with foreign languages to be sent to a far away land as a missionary, or to seek for a pastor just because he completed a two-year course at some Bible college.
Sometimes, not always of course, but sometimes, the best missionary works in a factory, the best preacher is found in an automotive shop, men of God who seek the face of God for His glory are right now pouring concrete on some skyscraper project.
Be prepared, no matter if you drive a taxicab or are a loving wife at the supermarket, be prepared always to give an account of the reason for your faith.
“In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.” (John 14:2)
Who else would you expect to say those words but an experienced Carpenter?
