Calling, Character and Separation:
"Be committed to what God calls you to do": Many people think that reaching their potential will be easy once they have found what God has called them to do, but this is not so. So often people fall by the wayside, who have not reached their full potentials, due to a loss of passion or too many distractions.
The fact is, that once you have found that which you are passionate about and are willing to do, if you could choose anything in the world to do, it is only the beginning. Most people never get started, but even many of those that do get started, into the things God had destined them to do, end up as negative statistics. Why is that?
One of the main reasons is character, or lack thereof. A calling without character is likened to an athlete who doesn't train. Training allows the athlete to discipline himself in order to reach certain goals, so that when the day of the race is at hand, he is fully prepared (2 Timothy2:3-5). Similarly, our callings need to be strengthened and cultivated by setting goals and being faithful, without compromise, in order to achieve them.
An athlete ,who is serious about doing well in the race, will not skip a weeks worth of training and then try and make that week up in one day. Or he won't wait for a week before the race and then only start training in order to win the gold in the Olympics 5000m. No, rather he will build up slowly, running further and further and faster and faster until he has reached the peak of his fitness, when race day nears. The same can be said for our spiritual lives and therefore our callings. We must be faithful everyday with that which we have, serve where there is opportunity and get into God's presence regularly.
If you are going to reach your potential it is going to cost you. Time, money, certain friends and even previous dreams. But by being faithful everyday, when the day of the race comes for you to take the next step into your calling, you are well prepared.
Remember, "...the gifts and the calling of God are without repentance" (Romans 11:29), so it doesn't matter how long it takes you to get there, nor how difficult the journey may seem, His gifts and calling will still be on you, because he will not take them away!
The calling on your life is totally by grace. Nothing you can do or have done can change the pre-determined plan and purpose, which he has for you. "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you ..." (Jeremiah 1:4-10). However, there comes a time when you must acknowledge this calling and do whatever is necessary to position yourself to walk fully into it. This is the time of separation. Your calling will never be fulfilled accidentally, you must be deliberate about going after it. It will be revealed to you step by step and God's timing is always right!
"Separate for me Barnabas and Saul for the work where unto I have called them" - Acts 13:2
It is interesting here that the word 'called' is in the past tense. This denotes that God had already called them for this good work, but that now they needed to be separated in order to accomplish it. Separation might take on different forms in different contexts, but there will always be a definite time and place, regardless of the nature of the calling!
I hope this speaks to someone as it has spoken to me. Many thanks to Andrew Wommack and his course "Makings of a Minister", for some valuable insight. Look out for links to videos of some of the lectures, that will be posted on the blog as well!
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