Tag Archives: calling

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Some people are cast right into ministry, while others are called to make arduous preparations for it. Jonah got spit onto the beach of Nineveh, but Noah was called to labor on his ark about seventy-five years before there was ever a drop of rain in the sky.

I was feeling pitiful, wondering why God could not just use me like I am rather than calling me to nursing school, but I considered Noah. It had never rained before, but he stacked gopherwood. The earth was high and dry, but he cut timber and boiled pitch. Noah was faithful to his calling, even though it was years before God would call him to climb aboard and batten the hatch.

As I considered the years of schooling I have yet to complete before receiving my nursing degree and the preparations to be made for whatever God has planned for me, I thought I would read the account of Noah, hoping for some encouragement.

This is what I found:

Genesis 5:28-29 NIV
[28] When Lamech had lived 182 years, he had a son. [29] He named him Noah and said, "He will comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground the Lord has cursed. "

His father named him Noah, to be a comfort for those of us who toil. Thank God for the story of Noah! and for the fulfillment of his type in the person and life of Jesus Christ, who seals us with His Spirit to withstand the tumultuous elements of this Earth for a promise on the other side of the storm!

Dear Father, today, make me diligent to the tasks at hand, keeping my focus on You, with my life in Your hands not mine. May the goal be before me, but my attention be always on following Your direction for my next step. Forgive my impatience, Lord, and cleanse me of it. Thank You for motivation, and for the promise of working according to Your purpose. In gratitude, I offer You this small gift: me.

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Go traffic lightThe term missionary means sent one. Someone recently asked me who was sending Cindy and me to Uganda.  The answer was simply, "God."  I was, for a micro-moment, tempted to feel as though that was an inadequate answer, realizing my interrogator wanted more detail, but I answered him with confidence, knowing that God will reveal to us the people and institutions with whom we will partner according to His timing.

I was reminded of the calling of the prophet Isaiah.  It was revealed to Isaiah's spirit that God was deliberating, "Whom shall I send?" when he volunteered, "Here am I.  Send me!" (Isaiah 6:8)  Isaiah was sent to block the ears and speak a curse of ignorance to the people who would have to wait for God's promise, the holy Root of Jesse, the stump of cutoff Israel, to be revealed.

“‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding;
be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’
10 Make the heart of this people calloused;
make their ears dull
and close their eyes.[a]
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed.”  (Isaiah 6:9b-10, NIV)

What once was bound up has been uncovered, and what once was sealed has been rolled away.  The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ has brought deliverance from this curse (Joel 2:32), and I stand as volunteer to deliver healing to those whom the Spirit will turn.

As written in 1 Peter 2:24,

24 He personally carried our sins
in his body on the cross
so that we can be dead to sin
and live for what is right.
By his wounds
you are healed.  (NLT)

Isaiah was willing though he wasn't sure what he was volunteering for.  Cindy and I are not sure what lies ahead either, but we are willing to give up house and family and comfort to respond to this call toward serving the children of Uganda.  Every moment I am away, the passion for them grows stronger.

Dear Father, today, help me live the today You have given me and trust You with tomorrow.  Thank You for opportunity to serve You now, even as I prepare for a new ministry yet to be birthed.  Help me be patient and grow as You cultivate.  Raise up Your servants to do what needs to be done, and grant that my part may be played according to Your perfect will and timing.  In Jesus' name, amen!