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May 12, 2025 06:00am

A Call That Changed Everything

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Draft Day, 1991

The tiny bedroom was packed with friends and family. Sports memorabilia lined the wood-paneled walls where this budding football star had spent most of his childhood.

The phone rang.

The call they had all been waiting for. The call that would change everything. From college to the pros, Brett Favre was about to be a household name.

There have been many calls throughout the course of history that have brought forth major changes, excitement, and devastation.

A candidate getting the call on election night announcing he’s the new president.

A woman receiving the news that her test is back and she’s going to have a baby.

A young man receiving the first phone call from a girl.

An aspiring musician receiving the call to appear on American Idol.

An out-of-work father who had applied at every business and job opening in the classifieds getting the call for an interview.

A family receiving the call from the doctor about the biopsy results, with news that cancer has been found.

It’s a call that changes everything.

Challenges, difficult days, new opportunities, and hard work all lie ahead when news on the other end of the line comes through.

When you receive such a call, it’s more than just answering it…

The journey ahead requires full surrender and commitment.

1 Corinthians 1:1–3

Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes,
2 To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be His holy people, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours:
3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Called.

Years before, Paul had been leading and cheering for the persecution of the followers of Christ. He was a Jew, a Pharisee, and determined to be rid of anyone who followed Jesus. But on his way to Damascus, with papers in hand to try to destroy more believers, he received a call.

He met Jesus.

Saul was completely changed. The Lord gave him a new name—Paul—and a new job. He was to be an apostle of the Lord, to share the good news of Jesus Christ with all people, including Gentiles.

Paul could have fled. He could have run as far as the eye could see. He could have hidden. He could have said no. He could have…

But he didn’t.

He answered the call.

He surrendered. He obeyed. He was committed.

God calls out to us too. First, the Holy Spirit calls our hearts with conviction. We recognize the sin in our lives is more than just wrongdoing—it’s sin against a Holy God and deserves eternal death. We realize we need help. We need salvation. But we can’t do it ourselves. Jesus, the Son of God, the One who paid the debt for our sins, offers us the salvation we desperately need. Forgiveness, redemption, reconciliation, and life—it’s all available through surrender to the Lord.

Once we have accepted this beautiful gift the Lord offers us, we receive another “call.” The Holy Spirit indwells us and gives us gifts to use for serving the Lord.

For some, that’s to be a pastor. For others, it’s to teach. For another, it’s to offer mercy. And another, to give. However the Lord blesses us, we are to turn and use that blessing for others—for His glory.

He has also called all believers to a new life—one surrendered and committed to the mission of Christ: to go and make disciples, glorifying the Father.

Have you answered the call?

Have you fully submitted and committed?

It’s a call that changes everything.

If you want to know more about becoming a truly devoted follower of Christ, go to follow.lifeword.org. This is a free resource you can use to become His disciple and to help you make disciples.