Diane reminded me recently of a sermon about Joseph and the necessity of taking in all the bases before you can make it home.
First, Joseph. He had dreams, visions and a calling from God to lead God's people and his family to safety and peace. Joseph was so clear and compelling in sharing his calling with his brothers that it inspired and motivated them.....to throw him into a pit and sell him into slavery. Years later, circumstances and a changing heart brought him to a place where he had genuine compassion and care for his family and he was used to save them from famine and lead them to peace and safety.
It seems that it is impossible for us to make it to home plate until we have rounded all the bases, as the sermon told us.
We had a friend who wanted to be a mass crusade evangelist like Luis Palau or Billy Graham. So, he tried to set himself up in mass crusades and was terribly frustrated when he was unable to set up any mass crusade gigs. Didn't God call him to be a mass crusade evangelist? Then why didn't he work out the details?
Sometimes we overlook all the important bases that might take years to round before we can make it home. Moses was called to lead God's people and, after discovering this, led sheep around for decades in preparation.
We've known others that wanted to Pastor a mega church. The focus on this goal led them to ignore and overlook people and their under-developed people skills drove away many that wanted to journey with them.
Like Joesph, it seems that God doesn't care for us leading his people until we care about the people God has called us to lead.
I too have been guilty of what I might call over-focus on the vision. It is easy to do. The vision becomes more important than what the purpose of the vision was in the first place.
I still wonder what God will lead me to in serving him, but I also have learned that it takes some time and some painful things to get to the place where he can use you. Hopefully it doesn't take 40 years.
But, if it does, it is worth the wait.
* cartoons by Henry Martin
5 comments:
God uses you every day, my friend. I count you as incredible resource and accountability helps!
thanks for the clarification on the exact purpose of this post, jaime...i could have taken this the wrong way.
What did he think it was about?
He thought it was about trying to get a home run...as in I went to second base at the drive-in with the cheerleader from the town just down the road.
Well, he didn't put it quite that graphically, but.....
Hahahaha
I like that guy!
Seriously tho, interesting post. Patience really is a virtue and sometimes the process and journey of attaining our goals gives as much, if not more, joy than actually arriving.
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