For Such a Time as This … Are You Being Called To Act or Grow?
Sometimes we get ahead of ourselves. More accurately, we get ahead of God’s plan for our lives.
Sometimes God gives us a vision for the future, and in our impatience we claim it for now. [←Tweet this.]
The Lord may place passion for a ministry in our hearts long before He gives us the means or the okay to pursue it. He often calls us before equipping us.
Like His ordination of David as King while just a boy (Samuel 16), God wants us to grow into that calling. To hone our skills and understanding.
But we often get impatient in the interim and want to act, not grow.
Yet my desire to reach farther outside the home is growing and becoming harder to contain. I see others’ circle of influence expanding in leaps and bounds while mine grows in tiny increments. And I pull against the bit holding me back.
But then God reels me in. I plan one more “last” event in my son’s senior year, and my priorities smack home. I have my children for such a very short time.
For now the majority of my time and energy needs to be spent on my family as God fertilizes and waters those attributes I’ll need for any future ministry.
So, for such a time as this…
But God has been reminding me that for now I’m raising disciples, His children, and that is a job no parent should take lightly.
I’m learning to treasure my current call, instead of yearning for the one to come.
Are you longing to do something but don’t have the time to pursue it? What does your heart burn to do, but you feel shackled by obligations and closed doors?
Don’t become disheartened. It may be that God is calling you to patience. Perhaps He has you in a place of preparation and growth.
Embrace the now and eagerly anticipate the tomorrow. They are both gifts to treasure.
Sometimes God gives us a vision for the future, and in our impatience we claim it for now. [←Tweet this.]
The Lord may place passion for a ministry in our hearts long before He gives us the means or the okay to pursue it. He often calls us before equipping us.
Like His ordination of David as King while just a boy (Samuel 16), God wants us to grow into that calling. To hone our skills and understanding.
But we often get impatient in the interim and want to act, not grow.
A Season to Embrace and Grow
I’m in a season right now where my family still needs a big chunk of my time. In fact, activity-wise we operate in the busiest period. However, I’ve felt a draw for a few years now to reach outside my home and minister encouragement. So in August 2011, I began this blog.Yet my desire to reach farther outside the home is growing and becoming harder to contain. I see others’ circle of influence expanding in leaps and bounds while mine grows in tiny increments. And I pull against the bit holding me back.
But then God reels me in. I plan one more “last” event in my son’s senior year, and my priorities smack home. I have my children for such a very short time.
For now the majority of my time and energy needs to be spent on my family as God fertilizes and waters those attributes I’ll need for any future ministry.
So, for such a time as this…
- I need to be present in my current calling. This means with my kiddos. In 5 short years I’ll be empty nesting–next year half our children will be gone to college.
- I need to savor where God has me now before that time blows away in the winds of change.
- I need to demonstrate God’s love to whoever I reach: being fully present, fully loving, fully guiding.
- I need to let God grow me into His vision for my future.
But God has been reminding me that for now I’m raising disciples, His children, and that is a job no parent should take lightly.
The period of expanding my circle of influence may come. But it needs to be in God’s timing, according to His plan for me.
So for now, I’m working on being content with writing and speaking on a smaller scale. To grow more than act. I’m learning to treasure my current call, instead of yearning for the one to come.
Is It Time for You to Act or Grow?
Don’t become disheartened. It may be that God is calling you to patience. Perhaps He has you in a place of preparation and growth.
Embrace the now and eagerly anticipate the tomorrow. They are both gifts to treasure.
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1)Reflection: Has God ever given you a vision only to call you to wait on it? How did you know it was a time to grow not act?
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Yours in grace ≈
Julie
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