calling, dream, God's wisdom, obedience, Trust, waiting, Word Wednesday

When the Calling or Dream isn’t Looking Like You Thought it Would #WordWednesday

I wonder if Moses had any clue he signed up for forty years in the desert . . .

when God called him to lead the Israelites to the Promised Land. I wonder how he envisioned this assignment when he stood before the burning bush. I’m sure it didn’t exactly play out as he thought. We know he was often frustrated.

And what about Joseph? Joseph had great visions and dreams. He knew God had great plans for him to rule and lead. Surely he fought doubt as he sat in prisons waiting for those dreams to become reality. Could he have ever envisioned the way God would place him into such high authority in the Egyptian Court?

As Mary of Nazareth knelt before Gabriel in acceptance of her new calling as the mother of Jesus, the long awaited Messiah, she was filled with excitement and humble honor. I wonder what she envisioned this assignment to be like, the mother of the One whose Kingdom would reign forever? Surely as she stood beneath the Cross she questioned Gabriel’s prophecy.

 

The Apostle Paul is another example. We studied Tuesday on our Facebook Live fellowship how his second letter to Timothy was written from yet another prison cell. Paul didn’t seem discouraged, but Timothy was, and that is why he wrote the letter. The words are famous. Many great sermons have preached these verses,

For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you by the laying on of my hands. For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline (2 Timothy 1:6,7).

Visions, callings, and dreams are all wonderful. They give us goals and purpose and reason to get up every day. But what do we do when those dreams or callings do not look like we thought they would? What do we do when it’s taking a lot longer to get to that goal or our circumstances do not seem to afford the reality of the dream? Does this mean we didn’t hear from God correctly?

What do you think?

I think it means we are on the right track. If I look at all of the other people in the Bible called by God, I see that none of their calls played out as they planned. It means that God never does anything the same way twice. He fulfills dreams and callings in God fashion. Purely out of the box.

I think His ways are different from ours because He isn’t focused on the goal, but He is working all things for good. He’s working on creating new creatures in Christ, getting us ready for the ultimate goal–heaven.

[bctt tweet=”He’s working on creating new creatures in Christ. ” username=”wordsbyandylee”]

If you are discouraged today, rejoice! If the dream hasn’t become reality yet, rejoice! You my friend are in great company. All we have to do is do what He is calling us to do for today. God’s got the rest. He’s given us power by His Spirit to keep on keepin on and fulfill today’s assignment. That power is not just any power. The Greek word is dunamis which is where we get the word dynamite! It’s a word that means miraculous, supernatural, power.

We can’t manufacture this power. It comes from Holy Spirit.

What has God called you to do today? Trusting obedience brings you one step closer to God’s dream for you. I’d rather have His dream for me than mine any day. Simply ask for more of His Spirit to help you do what needs to be done now.

 

Digging Deep in faith,

Andy

This post was first published in 2012 and has been re-purposed a few times. It’s a lesson many of us need to hear to be encouraged along the journey of our call–well, at least I do. :)

8 Comments

  1. Penny Cooke

    So glad you re-purposed this again at this time. I sure needed it. Thanks for the encouragement.

    1. Yay God! Thankful it encouraged you. Thanks for stopping by!

  2. Love this, Andy! Thanks for the reminder that we only have to do what God is calling us to do today. We know who holds the future!

    1. Yay! That has helped me for a long time. Just do what you can do and leave the tomorrow and all it entails to God. Thanks for stopping by, Beth!

  3. Annie Snyder

    Love this and oh so true!

    1. Yay! Thanks for leaving some love! Hang onto this truth, my friend.

  4. Piper Stephens

    Thank you for this….when life is uncertain, I try to “fix” things my way. His ways are higher and are most certainly better than mine!
    I am working on letting go and letting God in the hard and in the simple things of my life. As a Mom, we want to lead and guide our children, and we can, but we must allow HIM to do the work. I have been convicted many times of me playing “little holy spirit” in my children’s lives. But ONLY God can purpose in their hearts, I must pray for them and expect God to do the mighty things in their lives.
    There is another situation that I try to handle on my own and daily, (sometimes 15 times or more a day) I hand it over to Him, just to pick it back up. Working on that TRUST for Him to accomplish what He wants in our lives.
    My great-nephew (7 mo old) is having surgery today that will determine what is next for him. I cannot imagine what his parents are going through. From my perspective, they have no choice but to trust the Lord in this situation. From the decisions to the doctors to the treatment as well as the outcome is all in HIS hands and they do not have an option otherwise. They don’t realize it yet, but this journey they are walking through (or crawling through) is one that is touching many lives just by them being open and transparent about their struggle. God is already using this in a mighty way!
    Thank you for your ministry! You have helped me today!

    1. Hi Piper! I’m praying for your great-nephew! I saw their precious picture on Instagram. I’m thankful this post helped. Keep on trusting that He is good. :) Thanks for stopping by!

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