Encouragement

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“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit--fruit that will last”(John 15:16)
How do you know what God wants for your life? You test the calls. What if you think you know for sure? You follow that dream. I had my life all planned out: Bachelor of Arts degree and Post-graduate Teacher Training Certificate from England; Master of Arts degree from Canada, then home to teach.

I had always wanted to be a primary teacher from as far back as I could remember. My mother was the principal of one of our Anglican primary schools and it seemed to be what I was born to be as well. In the September of 1978, I began my career as a teacher.

I knew that something was wrong that first semester of teaching. I was not enjoying it as I thought I would – it was not “me.” I could do well with structured organization and intense personal discipline, but teaching was not energizing. Somewhere I had read that to operate in one’s area of giftedness meant that there was a steady supply of energy from within. On the contrary, I was spiritually exhausted by all the demands of twenty-four highly energetic and challenging fourth graders. Eventually, it became quite clear what I was meant to be doing for the Lord.

What has your journey been like over the past few years? How have you been tested by God? Has your journey been one mainly of discernment or disappointment?

As you reflect on your story, think of a time when you were brought into God’s will by a method or process of elimination. Perhaps you were selecting a life partner, and as you learned more about God’s priorities, you found your preferences shifting until you ended up in a relationship that was founded on very different criteria than before.

Are you happy with your present career? Are you feeling energized most of the time? Could God be calling you to leave the familiar and venture into the great unknown? Is there a sense in your life that God has chosen for you to bear the fruit that you are producing or is it more a matter of your imposed will? Do you want to be called by God?

For some of us, there is the desire to be obedient but we do not know how to sense God’s call. It is really a kind of spiritual guessing game where we look under the cups to find the hidden object only to discover that it seems not to be under any of them.

Reading Scripture or devotional material often raises a little flag at just the right moment and we begin to feel a tug. A thought may interrupt our inner dialogue, or a call may come at a critical moment and the offer of prayer is like a small light in a very dark room. A song on a gospel station or on a favourite CD may set in motion echoes of reassurance.
Be still before the Lord and pray: “Lord speak to me and help me to hear your will for my life. Let me patiently trust you and obediently follow your call.”

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