Fulfilling Our Calling

I had sensed for years the calling the Lord placed on my life, I just did not know it was Him calling. Before I started walking with Jesus, I thought I was destine to do something great in the world. Something that would be life altering for many. Perhaps a position of leadership or maybe I’d invent something, regardless I felt I was called to greatness.

Wow, just how arrogant does that sound? A lot! That was me before my surrender. I had no understanding of what was happening because it was the call of the Lord to serve Him. There was a fundamental change in my life perspective on March 3rd, 2001, the day I surrendered to His will for my life. Am I still destine for greatness? No clue and frankly I don’t much care, I just want to do what He has for me to the best of my ability, everything else will take care of itself.

A few years ago Erica Enders-Stevens won her first NHRA pro stock race. In the post race interview, she was asked what was the key to her success. Her answer, “We (the team) do our best and leave God the rest.” That statement has stuck with me, it’s something I go back to when I wonder what in the world is going on and how it’s all going to work.

If you find yourself in a place of stress, I encourage you to give whatever has you concerned to the Lord. We place a tremendous amount of pressure on ourselves based on the worlds standards. It’s time we stopped worrying and just do our best and leave God the rest. 2 Chronicles 20:15 He said: “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the LORD says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.

Blessings
Fulfilling Our Calling
TGIF Today God Is First NextGen
by Charis Hillman Brown
Wednesday, October 08 2014

“So, dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things, and you will never fall away. Then God will give you a grand entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” -2 Peter 10 & 11

We live in a rockstar-mentality world. What I mean by this is, many of us think that the ultimate goal of our lives is to be seen and recognized by multitudes of people, much like Taylor Swift, Oprah Winfrey, or Donald Trump. It has become an epidemic in our society!

Conversely, people who become successful rarely make it a goal to be famous. They just made it a goal to be the best they could be.

As Christians, the best we can be is living by the word of God, and finding ways of working in our “sweet spot”, in order to share the gospel with the most people possible. This can be through art, through business, through technology, or through whatever industry we find ourselves in – even if for the moment it is an industry or position we don’t particularly like.

I remember having a conversation with someone at church once, where I was saying, “I just feel like I?m running behind, like God has this plan for my life, and I missed something, and I am not where I am supposed to be.” The person I was talking to said, “But you are here, and that means you are right where you?re supposed to be.”

At the time it didn’t make me feel any better. I just wanted to be where I really felt God wanted me to be! I’m sure David felt the same way after he was anointed to be king but went back to tending sheep. But life is a journey, and, as John Maxwell says, “Growth stops when the tension stops between where you are and where you want to be.” The tension we may be feeling is the impetus for growth.

We might have professional and personal goals we want to reach, but what we fail to realize is, right now is our calling. It’s not some far off thing in the future; there is no dress rehearsal for life. So, being the best we can be within the moment is truly being the best we can be.

Who can you encourage today, right where you are? Start with today. Every turn we make impacts our future, but the cool thing is, we can start living life, walking in the kingdom and impacting others – right now, right from where we are.