Following the Call

My husband and I both are experiencing great job dissatisfaction in our lives of late, so much so, that our attitudes have been severely (and adversely, I might add) affected. We separately decided we needed to seek God for the answers. Are we supposed to change jobs, go into some sort of ministry, move, WHAT? My passion is to make a difference in the lives of others; to spur them on to what God has in store for them, to face their fears and follow HARD after God, because only in Him can we find true satisfaction. So I'm dissatisfied. Good one, Peggy.

Why am I dissatisfied, and what can I do about it? First of all, I prayed and sought God's voice both to my spirit and by reading the Word. The single word I felt spoken into my spirit was "patience." Not my favorite word! For those of you who know me, patience isn't one of my strong suites. My dad nicknamed me (sarcastically) "Patience" when I was a child. When I decide something needs to change or get fixed, it better have happened yesterday! I used to laugh when non-homeschooling parents would say to me, "Oh I could never home school, I don't have the patience." I'd reply that as the least patient person on earth-if I could do it, ANYONE can! So what to do about the nasty word I received? Swallow it and wait for Him to move. Yay.

During this time I also had a dream one night, and in it, the Lord chastised me for not following Him wholeheartedly. For letting fear stand in the way of complete and truthful pursuit of Him. Fear of man. Fear of disappointment. Fear I would freak my non-Christian and non-Charismatic (= believing in the manifested gifts of the Spirit) Christians out. But then, not trusting myself to hear clearly (we all can be easily deceived by the enemy, desires of our flesh, and just random thoughts), I spent time in the Word-VERY important. The prophet Jeremiah is my absolute favorite biblical hero. I LOVE that man. I can't wait to get to heaven and befriend him! Hopefully he'll like me :) Anyway, I noticed he spent SO much time patiently following God's orders and standing against popular (and sinful) opinion, even of those in powerful leadership (read Jeremiah chapter 38).

 Anyway, this scripture jumped out at me (Jeremiah 29:11, 13-14a) "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and future...you will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me WITH ALL YOUR HEART." (Emphasis mine). Ok, Lord, I get it. I am allowing fear to stunt my growth, and even worse, to stop me from pursuing the call on my life. I am in amazed gratitude of the lengths God will go to get my attention and seize the moment to teach me something. His love is incredible, and the fact He loves me, one tiny, unimportant human in a sea of humanity, blows my mind. And the fact He has a big JOB for me, if only I get on board with his plans, stuns me.

For now, then, my plan is to (patiently) wait on Him. To pursue Him with all my heart. To proclaim His goodness and love. To TESTIFY to the fact that YOU ALL (or in Butte Lingo, "Youse guys") are just as precious, loved and CALLED as anyone, even the prophet Jeremiah. He has GREAT plans for us, plans to PROSPER us, to give us a HOPE and a FUTURE...but...we must seek Him with ALL our hearts. Amen.