Stay true to the calling on your life

I recently had a conversation after a church service with somebody I had not met before and found myself being encouraged to enter into a discussion / debate on the subject of “who Christians should be voting for in an upcoming election” the latest End Times  theory that the Tribulation will begin in September this year. I am not somebody that is obsessed with End Times signs and theories and was feeling very uncomfortable with entering into the discussion as I had not been expecting it and more so it was not the time and place. I tried to steer the conversation back to less intense topics and suggested going for a cup of tea but to no avail. The harder I tried to politely change the direction of conversation the more intense it seemed to get. In the end I had to ask to cut the conversation but was accused of being too naïve and being “one of those Christians that bury their heads in the sand”.  I managed to end the conversation in as much of a polite manner as possible but found that I had been quite affected by it.

For the next couple of days I found myself questioning if I was naïve and not seeking God, not specifically regarding the signs of the end times but was there any truth in the accusation in any way. Was I as committed to the Word of God as a whole as some of the fanatics are with regards to a specific topic?

A very wise man who is also a very good friend then gave me the best advice that I needed to be hearing.

He basically reminded me that our focus should be Jesus in all things and that Jesus is in control. No matter the political climate of the day – He is In Control, despite the latest claims of revelation regarding End Times – He is in Control. We should be fanatical about Jesus and partnering with Him in building His Kingdom.

He also reminded me to “Stay true to the calling on my life” and to walk in Freedom.

When I received that advice my spirit leapt again and I heard God say “Yes, now I have your attention again! Stop looking inwards and allowing distractions to rob.”

I was reminded of a verse in Geneses 26 v 18 where it tells of Isaac unstopping the wells that his father Abraham had dug which the Philistines has blocked up by throwing stones and junk in.

“ ¹⁸ Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the time of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died, and he gave them the same names his father had given them.”

I had allowed the well within me to be blocked up by distractions, accusations and lies from the enemy which had meant my focus dropped from Jesus to myself.

I thank God for His faithfulness that even when we may not really know what it is that we are grappling with or that our focus has dropped from Him, He still reaches out to us just like He did when He reached out and caught Peter as Peter began to sink when taking his eyes off Jesus while walking on the water. I also thank Mike for being quick to respond with Gods encouragement to me.

So to anybody out there that may feel like your focus has dropped, I would say the same words to you that impacted me with such freeing power, clarity and love;

“Stay true to the calling on your life and to walk in Freedom”

A Thought; Am I Out of Breath or Out of Depth?

The 2^nd half of verse 3 in Isaiah 61 says this;

“That they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, for the display of his splendour.”     (New International Version)

Other versions like the King James and English Standard Version put that verse this way;   

“That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”

Who is it that the “They” in this verse this refers to?

Well it is anybody that has ever been Broken Hearted, Afflicted, Captive to something and reason to Mourn. That would just be about everybody but I know that I would fit into that category.

But because of Jesus my wounds have been bound and that I have been set free, liberated and vindicated. And even more so, I have been planted by God and called righteous by Him.

Ephesians 2:10 says that God has prepared “good works” in advance for me to walk in. By my walking in these “good Works” that God has prepared for me, His splendour is displayed and He is glorified. But do I know what these good works are? Have I sought God on them? In spending some time thinking on these verses and asking myself those questions I came to a conclusion that both excited me and terrified me. If God has prepared good works for me in advance (i.e. when He knit me together in my mother’s womb) and that His splendour is displayed when I walk in these good works then can they be dependent on my own skill and talents or education. I believe God has gifted each one of us and we are encouraged to stir up those gifting’s but so often I view my gifting’s in conjunction with my natural abilities. If this is the case then I have to ask myself this; “Can Gods splendour really be displayed through my life when I am operating from within my own ability, talents and education?”

The answer I came to was no. In order for God’s splendour to be displayed through me then I surely need to be out of my comfort zone and “in over my head”. This thought process did not bring condemnation and judgement but actually an encouragement from God to specifically place myself outside of my comfort zone. I want to live in or walk in all that God has for me here on earth and not to miss out on anything that He has prepared and waiting for me to step into. There is also a promise from God that He has already prepared good works for me and therefore He will be with me in walking in them. He will operate through me in fulfilling this promise and that it is not my responsibility to “perform” but to “position myself” in this.

Again this is by no means an encouragement to “work harder” but to trust God to use me way beyond my own talent and skill so that my life will be a display of His splendour.