Many believe that with this passage, that things are already set in stone and that your fate has already been determined so why not live how I like and deal with the consequences later. I on the other hand do not believe this is the case.
I think we are all called and it is up to us to listen. Nowadays, your parents will text you to come home, but not so long ago, parents would go outside and call your name and say it is time for dinner. Depending on where you were, you might be able to here them clearly or not. If not, I bet you recognized your parents voice from a great distance and then you would stop to listen to see if you could make out what was being said.
How is this any different than God trying to call your name? The reality is, it is not. The difference is that you are not listening for God’s voice or you are very unfamiliar with it. There are many reasons, but I think the primary ones are that we are in too much of a hurry to listen and God’s voice is muffled out by the background noise. He could speak louder to get your attention, but then He would be doing all the work and frankly, He has already done a lot. It is time for us to step up.
There are many that are called in a type of ministry who do not think they were God’s first choice, or second, or even third. However, they believe that the others that were called did not listen to God’s voice either because they simply refused to listen or did not hear or said no.
What are you going to do? Will you wait and try to hear or will you proceed with your life as though He never spoke to you? If you do hear Him, will you obey and do as requested or make excuses about why you cannot. Think of Samuel:
1 Samuel 3:10 New International Version (NIV)
10 The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!”
Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”