If you are in a dark room and hear someone off to one side calling your name, the way to find the person is by moving in the direction the voice is coming from.
This is so obvious, but it is amazing to me how many people sense God calling them to one particular area, yet everything they are doing is moving them in a different direction.
For example, if you are called to be a doctor, you should not be enrolling in law school. If you are called to the mission field, you should not be buying a big house in your hometown. If you are called to be a pastor, you should not be marrying someone who hates church.
Make sure that whatever you are doing is moving you closer to your call. For example, Joe feels God has called him to start a franchise of restaurants and use the profits to support missions. But he works as a car salesman and doesn’t have the money to start his business right now. So how could Joe begin to move in the direction of God’s call?
First of all, he could start giving to missions now, even if it’s in small amounts. People often tell me that they are on the verge of a big business deal, and when they make their millions they are going to support our mission in Africa. But if they are not already giving of what they have at the moment, I highly doubt anything will change when and if they make their millions.
What’s more, God is not looking for people who have good intentions for what they will do if He blesses them. Rather, He is looking to bless people who are already being faithful and obedient with what they have.
The next thing Joe could do is to get a job that will position him closer to what God has called him to do. A job in the hospitality field would provide him with experience and contacts he will not get as a car salesman. If Joe really feels God is calling him to start and manage a restaurant chain, then he should immerse himself in that world, even if he has to take a pay cut and start as a janitor or a busboy.
Many people want God to lay out their futures for them in advance like the blueprint of a building that is to be constructed. It never works out that way.
Do not despise the day of small beginnings. Do not despise small steps as long as they are obedient, faith-filled steps that are moving you in the direction of God’s call. As you move forward in obedience and faith, He is going to reveal it all, one step at a time. {eoa}
