He Who Calls You Is Faithful

He Who Calls You Is Faithful

Hudson Taylor, the founder of the China Inland Mission, repeatedly encountered circumstances that made his calling seem impossible: insufficient funds, opposition from established mission organizations, illness, loss. His famous response became the motto of his ministry: 'God's work done in God's way will never lack God's supply.' He drew this confidence from verses like 1 Thessalonians 5:24 — the God who calls will also do it. He did not mean that God would make the work easy. He meant that God would make it real. Everything Taylor accomplished was impossible by his own resources. It was accomplished by the faithful One who had called it into being.

1 Thessalonians 5:24 is the conclusion of Paul's instructions about the Christian life — and it grounds all those instructions in one truth: the One who calls you is faithful. You are not called to accomplish God's purposes in your own strength. The One who calls is also the One who does. This does not eliminate human responsibility — Paul has just listed twenty-some instructions in the preceding verses. But it relocates the ultimate source of capacity. You obey; He enables. You attempt; He accomplishes. You step out in the direction of the call; He proves faithful to what He began. Whatever God has called you to that seems beyond your capacity — it is. And He will do it.