Saints Who Initially Rejected God’s Call

The Heroes Journey was developed by author Joseph Campbell as a story telling technique. In recent years, amateur screen writers have used the Hero’s Journey as an outline to follow while trying to craft their first movie. Campbell’s work has been turned into a cycle of life diagram where the hero of a story initially rejects a call to lead. After studying the context of Moses’ life, he is one of many saints who initially rejected God’s call.

And Moses said to the Lord, O Lord, I am not eloquent or a man of words, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am slow of speech and have a heavy and awkward tongue. ¹¹ And the Lord said to him, Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the dumb, or the deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? Is it not I, the Lord? ¹² Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and will teach you what you shall say. ¹³ And he said, Oh, my Lord, I pray You, send by the hand of [some other] whom You will [send]. ¹⁴ Then the anger of the Lord blazed against Moses; He said, Is there not Aaron your brother, the Levite? I know he can speak well. Also, he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be overjoyed. ¹⁵ You must speak to him and put the words in his mouth; and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you what you shall do, Exodus 4:10-15.

When asked to be the mouthpiece for the nation of Israel, Moses began to focus on all of his weaknesses. Rather than trust in God to equip him properly for success, Moses thought about everything that he wasn’t good at or gifted in. Like the hero in Joseph’s Campbell’s story telling outline, Moses initially rejects God call. Plan B involves using his brother Aaron, a priest to fill in this role until Moses has the confidence to grow into this position.

Now the word of the Lord came to ^[a]Jonah son of Amittai, saying, ² Arise, go to ^[b]Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me. ³ But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from being in the presence of the Lord [as His prophet] and went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish [the most remote of the Phoenician trading places then known]. So he paid the appointed fare and went down into the ship to go with them to Tarshish from being in the presence of the Lord [as His servant and minister]. ⁴ But the Lord sent out a great wind upon the sea, and there was a violent tempest on the sea so that the ship was about to be broken. ⁵ Then the mariners were afraid, and each man cried to his god; and they cast the goods that were in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep, Jonah 1:1-5.

Meanwhile, God called Jonah to share the good news of God’s forgiveness to the sinful city of Ninevah. Rather than immediately respond to God’s call, Jonah gets on a boat heading in the complete opposite direction of Ninevah. Nonetheless, God send a storm so that Jonah takes the long way to get to the Lord’s desired destination. Although you may reject God once or twice, in His time, you’ll be prepared for your next calling in 2024.

by Jay Mankus