The question asked of the missionary was simple. "How long was the time spent between first receiving the call and finally being on the mission field?" The young man asking the question had a personal reason for wanting an answer. He was eagerly waiting to be accepted into a mission program so that he and his family could get on the mission field.
I remember looking at the missionary who was sharing with us during our Sunday evening prayer time and expecting him to tell us the number of months or years he had prepared and waited before entering the mission field. Instead, he quietly made a statement that rang throughout my spirit like steeple bells on Easter morning. "The most important thing to remember is the call to obedience."
What? Where was the calendar date? I'm expecting to hear some kind of time frame and he's talking about obedience.
The call to obedience might not sound as inviting as the call to missions, or evangelism, or the call to be a teacher or pastor. Yet, as I've thought about this I've come to accept that the call to obedience is fundamental to any call to service we might receive from God. I'm beginning to understand how important it is to be diligent and faithful in my obedience with every part of my life, even if I don't see how or what it is God is calling me to do.
The wait for God's perfect timing - the time we spend waiting for God to make all things ready for us to serve IS the perfect time for obedience. The idea of "blooming where you are planted" seems to go hand in hand with the call to obedience. We shouldn't wait until 'we think we are where God is taking us so we can do what he has called us to' before we answer the call to obedience. Rather, we should accept the call to obedience in the seemingly insignificant stages of our life when we are tempted to become frustrated with waiting for God to use us.
Waiting can seem an unpleasant thing. Waiting can cause us to become impatient or discouraged or even defiant. This may be because we're thinking of waiting as being idle, a waste of our time, an inconvenience. If, however, we are waiting on God it shouldn't be a time of idleness, but readiness - our time not thought of as wasted but fruitful, not an inconvenience but purposeful and delightful.
Now is the time. Now is the time to be obedient, to be fruitful. Now, while we're waiting for the next thing God has for us, is the time to thrive and flourish. Whatever season of life we are in, wherever we are planted, now is the time to bloom!
I remember looking at the missionary who was sharing with us during our Sunday evening prayer time and expecting him to tell us the number of months or years he had prepared and waited before entering the mission field. Instead, he quietly made a statement that rang throughout my spirit like steeple bells on Easter morning. "The most important thing to remember is the call to obedience."What? Where was the calendar date? I'm expecting to hear some kind of time frame and he's talking about obedience.
The call to obedience might not sound as inviting as the call to missions, or evangelism, or the call to be a teacher or pastor. Yet, as I've thought about this I've come to accept that the call to obedience is fundamental to any call to service we might receive from God. I'm beginning to understand how important it is to be diligent and faithful in my obedience with every part of my life, even if I don't see how or what it is God is calling me to do.
The wait for God's perfect timing - the time we spend waiting for God to make all things ready for us to serve IS the perfect time for obedience. The idea of "blooming where you are planted" seems to go hand in hand with the call to obedience. We shouldn't wait until 'we think we are where God is taking us so we can do what he has called us to' before we answer the call to obedience. Rather, we should accept the call to obedience in the seemingly insignificant stages of our life when we are tempted to become frustrated with waiting for God to use us.
Waiting can seem an unpleasant thing. Waiting can cause us to become impatient or discouraged or even defiant. This may be because we're thinking of waiting as being idle, a waste of our time, an inconvenience. If, however, we are waiting on God it shouldn't be a time of idleness, but readiness - our time not thought of as wasted but fruitful, not an inconvenience but purposeful and delightful.
Now is the time. Now is the time to be obedient, to be fruitful. Now, while we're waiting for the next thing God has for us, is the time to thrive and flourish. Whatever season of life we are in, wherever we are planted, now is the time to bloom!
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