THERE IS NO TEMPLATE

For millennia people didn't know what carried malaria. And the word malaria translated means, "bad air." Physicians tried everything to prevent the fatal disease, but even until the late 1800's it was a mystery. Once you know that mosquitoes carry malaria, the solution is simple.  

God's Call

When God calls a saint, the solution and the plan will never be revealed. It's not like the solution to a riddle where He gives the solution first, then asks the riddle.  

When God calls, you only get this step. To proceed, you have to say yes.  

Sometimes God's call came with a declaration of the final stage. And sometimes His call came with one tiny step. Either way, there was no other person in their life who had gone through what God was about to ask them to go through.  

There was no example and no previous heuristic. Said another way: He called them to do something completely new and unheard of.  

God only blinded one person on the road to Damascus. He only called one person to lead a group of people out of slavery; only called one person to bring his son out to sacrifice him.

There is No Template

Jesus. How much of the plan was he told? He prophesied his own death and resurrection, but did he know all the details? He had faith in the Father to raise him.

Abraham was told the end but then tested with Isaac. This call had never happened before.  

Joseph: Being sold into slavery was so backward. And nobody had ever interpreted dreams to accomplish God's plan.  

Moses: He was called, but he wasn't told the end. Nobody had ever picked up a staff that could also turn into a snake. And certainly nobody had turned water to blood or parted seas.  

Jonah: He was called to Ninevah, but none of this story had happened before.  

Nehemiah: He was called to build a wall. Nobody had ever built a wall to fulfill a call from God. 

Ruth was called "for such a time as this," but these times and this call had never happened before.  

Paul: Nobody had ever been blinded on the road to Damascus.

Peter: No one had walked on water.  

You. When God calls you, don't expect to have any sort of example or template for what He's about to ask you to do. You will get clearer on who He is and much fuzzier on what you're supposed to be doing. The situation will become cloudier. You may doubt. Your friends and family may doubt. Because…. nobody's ever seen anything like this before. This call is very strange. Very confusing. Very backward. It will appear unwise. Unprudent.  

Say "Yes"

And when He calls you, don't expect a template for how things are going to go. And certainly don't place conditions on your "Yes." You won't get one. Maybe the closest thing to a conditional sign is Gideon and the fleece.  

To study the saints of the past is to get a template for how to say yes. But it's a terrible way to know how to proceed. It's just not going to work that way.  

There is no template for what you'll be called to do. It's the terrifying part. But it's also what makes it magical.