This year has been a year of change. Lots of change.
My wife was able to get a better job at the company she already worked for. We found ourselves going back to the church my wife had attended before we got married five years ago, and falling in love with the community of believers there. We even took the leap of starting grad school at Liberty University to earn our Master’s degrees.
Even in the midst of these changes, God has seen fit to make adjustments and “tweaks” along the way. The biggest of these changes, for me, was feeling God reaffirm His call to ministry in my life, and opening the door for me to pursue an advanced degree in Worship Studies at Liberty University (where my wife and I are/where already enrolled for the Master’s in Accounting program).
These are no small changes in our lives, and we have had many prayerful discussions about each and every one. But as I sit and reflect on my upcoming birthday, the Christmas season and New Year’s, I feel that God still has one more change He wants us all to undergo. He wants to change our hearts.
Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. (Psalm 51:10 KJV)
Even in the midst of all the changes from this past year, I found myself longing for the opportunity to make a change in my current job situation. I even went to the extent of applying for other positions, justifying in my own mind that a change would be good for us on a number of levels. I continued to tell myself, and to pray, that if the door was not opened, that was God’s way of telling me it was not meant to be. As the doors continued to close, it dawned on me that my continued pursuits were on the line of insanity (doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results). When I finally took the time be still, I could feel God’s spirit impressing on me that this season of “meantime” is more important than a job, and more relevant than a career or even “official” ministry title. He wants to use this season in my life to teach me, mold me, and make me into who He desires for me to be, so that I can be ready and equipped for when that “next step” comes. (There is great wisdom on this season of “meantime” in Pastor Luke Jackson’s message titled “Surrender”. An audio recording of this message is currently available under the media link at www.mtzionwesleyan.com.)
God does not need me to change jobs or make a major career move to be useful in His kingdom. Matthew 6:33 says all He asks is that we seek first His kingdom, and He’ll take care of the rest.
