The Call Before the Work

On February 7, 1837, a sixteen-year-old English girl named Florence Nightingale sat in the garden at Embley Park and heard what she described as the voice of God calling her to His service. She recorded the date precisely in her diary. She had no idea what the service would be. She had not yet set foot in a hospital, had not yet defied her wealthy family's expectations, had not yet walked the filthy wards of Scutari during the Crimean War with her lamp held high. The call came first. The work came later.

This is the astonishing sequence of Mark's Gospel. When Jesus rose dripping from the Jordan, the heavens tore open and the voice of the Almighty thundered, "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased." Notice what Jesus had not yet done. He had not healed a single leper. He had not stilled any storm. He had not spoken one parable or called one disciple. The Father's declaration of love and delight came before a single act of public ministry.

God did not say, "Prove yourself and then I will claim you." He said, "You are mine, and I am pleased," and then sent Jesus into the wilderness and the work.

Florence Nightingale spent seven years waiting after that garden moment before her path became clear. But the voice came first. It always does. Before the Almighty sends us into our calling, He first speaks over us the words every human heart longs to hear: You are beloved. You are mine.