At the Crossroads

Do you ever feel like you are in the right place at the right time?

Or do you often feel the opposite?

One night the Lord said to Paul in a vision, 'Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent; for I am with you, and no one will lay a hand on you to harm you, for there are many in this city who are my people.' - Acts 18:9-10

In today's reading from the Acts of the Apostles, Paul winds up in the right place, and he stays there a year and a half.

Perhaps he would have considered it the best time of his life.  To know you are where God wants you to be has to be a great feeling.

But the lesson here might be one in finding that place.  How did Paul come to be where God told him to stay?  He was already there, doing what God wanted when he heard God speak to him.

That tells me I have to do the work of finding that place.  I have to get out there and be actively involved in doing the work He has in mind for me first, and that feeling will come.

I believe that is the way God works.  He gives me the tools to do the work, and He supports me i the project or mission when I feel I can't do it, or face opposition I didn't expect.

Now I don't believe it is a hit-or-miss affair.  If Paul hadn't made his way to Corinth, he might have found a different place where God wanted him to be.

That's the beauty of it.  There is so much to do that we don't have to worry where we start.  It is all in God's plan.  Our mission is where we take it.

Just as we awaken during the night filled with dread over the prospect of another day doing what we despise, we could awaken in the morning filled with hope and joy for what the day will bring.

But it is hard to give up one for the other.  When the checks keep coming in, the job becomes bearable, and we put off the ministry to which we are called.  But when the checks stop, be ready.

One day the checks will stop.  Either the day will come by choice or it will be thrust upon us, and when it comes, we need to be prepared to go and do the work that brings us joy.

But like Paul who only stayed a year and a half, I need to be ready to move on to the next place, the next challenge set before me, and to leave behind for others the work I started.

I am there.  I am at the crossroads, and the next step in this journey will take me where I haven't been.

Won't you join me?

I promise it will be a joyful challenge.

More to come...