With what I heard on the debate last night about God’s Call, I was compelled to write my thoughts on the matter. From the time I was 16 years old, I have worked. I started with Winn Dixie in Tifton, Georgia, bagging groceries. Before that, I worked on the farm with my granddaddy, picking peaches, throwing watermelons onto trucks, and the list could go on when farming. At age 24, I felt God tugging at my heart with a call to preach. I ran for many years toying with it, but I learned that it was not something to flirt around His call. I have never pastored a church that paid megabucks, but God has always met my needs.
I climbed the ladder of success in the grocery business and
could have probably made much more money in the business world than I’ve ever
made in preaching the Gospel. If ministry weren’t a calling from God, I would
have left it long ago. I have served in some places and been mistreated by
people calling themselves Christians, and I did leave it one time. But like
Jeremiah, His fire burned in my bones. Crying the blues one day, God spoke to
my heart and said, “ I only had 12 dedicated followers, and one of them was a
devil. When I died on the cross, all but one fled in fright. Pick yourself up
and preach.” I have never looked back since that happened. Friend ministry is a
high calling from God, not just a job for one to choose.
Dr. Danny V. Ray
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