When we sense God’s call, we often expect fulfilling the call will be an easy task.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Maybe you’re dragging your feet in pursuing an assignment from the Lord.

Have you sensed some type of call on your life? Maybe to start a business, to quit your current job or to pursue some other risky venture. I understand; I’ve sensed the call to write for about 8 years, and the book still isn’t written.

Acknowledge the Resistance to God’s Call

Pursuing God’s call is difficult. It requires an inertia that just never seems to be there. We know what must be done, but actually taking the next step only triggers a tidal wave of oppression and resistance.

So, rather than pursuing the call, we surrender to the enemy’s attack.

He knows just the right buttons to push. For some, it’s distraction towards other activities. Or maybe you struggle with discouragement that you won’t measure up to others’ opinions or even your own standards of perfection.

Perhaps you try to deny the call, assuming that you must have heard wrong.

Sadly, before we even begin our assignment, we feel defeated and fearful, often depressed…which is just where the enemy wants us to dwell.

Prepare for Battle

How can we press into God’s call and overcome the resistance?

What will provide us the forward momentum that helps us get on the right track and to actually take a step in pursuing the Lord’s call, by His grace?

Paul offers some insight into this dilemma in 1 Corinthians 16:9. He desires to visit the church in Corinth but he needs to delay his journey. He explains that he will stay in Ephesus, “for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.”

Apparently the Lord’s effective work, God’s call, is linked to the presence of adversaries—many adversaries. So, to press into God’s call, we must expect—not run from—the adversaries.

Ephesians 6:12 informs us that our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the enemy of our soul, the devil. He and his minions are the true adversaries to the Lord’s effective work in our lives and through our lives.

But, Paul wasn’t concerned about the adversaries. In fact, he seemed to relish in the fact that there were many adversaries.

For Paul, the Lord’s work of preaching the gospel always came with challenging conditions, which he explained earlier in his letter. (See 1 Cor 4:8-13)

Paul wasn’t surprised by the adversaries as he pursued the Lord’s effective work, and neither should we.

Embrace the Privilege and Responsibility of God’s Call

Whether we like it or not, God’s call for each of us will come with resistance and oppression.

It is a privilege to be called into the Lord’s effective work here on earth. He doesn’t need our involvement to accomplish His work, but invites us to participate with Him.

The resistance and oppression we face should be good news because it is one way to determine if we are headed in the right direction. So don’t be alarmed by the resistance or the oppression, but follow Paul’s example and move into the Lord’s doorway of effective work … step by step.

Continue moving forward into your call. Experience His empowerment as you steadily advance His kingdom in your own life and in your corner of creation.

Remember others have traveled similar paths and are encouraging us as we pursue God’s call.

Need a little help with getting quiet? Request the free guide, Reflections for Your Soul.