Take away the dross from the silver, and the smith has material for a vessel; Proverbs 25:4 ESV
This is a strange journey and one I trust is His plan for taking away the dross and making me into material worthy of shaping into a vessel.
What that vessel will be or how long this journey is, I do not know; so daily (at the office surrounded by chaos and a gazillion minutia) and nightly (at the hotel cloaked in loneliness and quiet) I must trust him with this strange path.
“On the holy mount stands the city he founded…the Most High himself will establish her. ” Psalm 87:1 and 5
Last night while traveling home I had a couple moments of feeling weak and vulnerable. At one point the plane felt like it would be rattled apart by turbulence. Another moment, a wave of tiredness came over me while I waited for the next flight from Dallas to deliver my bag.
I awoke this morning thankful for my own bed, warm sunshine in the window and homemade coffee instead of hotel coffee. In the midst of these earthly comforts, I found myself searching for something Solid and Strong. I “randomly” opened to Psalms 87 and found the words “he founded” and “himself will establish her”. These words are in reference to a city that the Lord builds, but I take comfort them, because this is the character of the God I serve in this challenging season. I know he is also founding and establishing me, all the while he holds planes together and gives me grace while I await a delayed bag at the end of a long day.
#hardfightsoftheart
I think there are a couple types of people when it comes to the category of vocation and calling:
A) Those who have clear vision as well as gifting to a specific task.
B) Then there are those who God seems to let pick their own course and they just do it, because they are either good at it and it makes good money or it comes easy to them or all three.
C) The third category are those who seem to only get one step at a time in knowledge of what they are to do next and their only clear direction is to follow God and trust him with just that next step.
I would put myself somewhere between B and C. I like business and it comes fairly easy to me and I am successful in it, but I have to trust God with the big picture part of it, because I’m still not sure what His plans are for me in it.
I would put a couple close family members in category A. They had/have a specific and clear calling, they were/are naturally gifted at it, had/have the passion for it, and saw/see themselves in that future very clearly.
All three categories require trust and humility:
B – because it’s easy to pick the well traveled path and avoid the difficult ones, and miss God’s urging to do harder things (David (if I may be so bold as to use biblical examples to show my point)).
C – because you can’t see your next step and need to rely on Him for that (Joseph).
A – because God can, at one or two or more points, ask you to lay those clear plans on the altar (Abraham).
The comforting thing is this: with the A or B or C person, if there is a willingness to humbly follow him in trust, ultimately you will end up where God called you to, but in ways far beyond what you could think or imagine.
Something to challenge you with.
Laptop: check
iPad / Kindle / Nook: check
iPod: check
Smartphone 1 (work): check
Smartphone 2 (personal): check
Question: have we really increased productivity by introducing the above as necessary for work and / or travel?
“Some of the greatest professionals are the best listeners…they hear what their client is saying (sometimes between the lines) and serves [sic] them with honesty and respect.”
– Run to opportunities, but not away from challenges.
– We need to be analytical about our lives. What makes you happy? What makes you unhappy? Where are you on that scale?
– Ask yourself if your discomfort is your “cross to bear” or a “sign to move on”?
– Write a pro / con list of what you like about your job. Be specific on both accounts.
– Remember that your main purpose is to bring Christ to the marketplace. Are you doing that?
So I was walking up Madison Ave this afternoon at a fairly brisk pace (needed to get to the Met store before it closed) and BAM! I walked straight into the guy in front of me who suddenly decided to stop and dial a call on his cell phone. I politely smiled and walked around him, but on the inside was feeling smug that I had finally learned to navigate the streets of NYC to such an extent that I now know that stopping in the middle of a busy sidewalk in this city will cause certain calamity.
30 minutes later.
I was on the phone with my sis and having lousy reception, so I stopped to look at my phone and see what was up with it. Yes. I stopped. I stopped in the middle of a busy (and very crowded) sidewalk in this city. BAM. The poor (short) dude who ran into me gave me that look as he side-stepped around me. I’m sure I can guess what he was thinking.
I’m not feeling so smug anymore. Ah pride, you do cause the mighty to fall.
NYC seems a cold and lonely and not-so-soulful city at times. I came here this trip with a bad attitude. Admittedly, my attitude was really bad. Silly as it may seem, it was bad mostly because I had to leave Austin on an absolutely gorgeous day and come here. To where it’s cold. And busy. And crowded. And soul-less.
But God is good.
He is good to remind me that He is everywhere. There is no place I can go away from Him.And that this city isn’t quite so soul-less after-all.
He reminded me in Starbucks when the music playing overhead was a redone hymn, set in an upbeat, folksy tune. He reminded me when I walked into the office, following some colleagues and when the automatic hallway lights came on, they all three exclaimed, “And God said ‘Let there be light’!”. He reminded me yet again that He is at work in this soulful city, as I overheard two people a couple desks away discussing church and worship and what it means to be a true believer.
God is good. And He is faithful to remind me that He is with me. All the time and everywhere. There is nowhere I can go where He is not already there, at work.
finalite 