God spoke to me in a HUGE way last week and I hope I can convey it adequately here.
So I was interviewing Donnie Carroll, the children and family minister at my church, about teens and summer jobs. Not only is he a WONDERFUL minister for children and families, he has 7 children (and a grandbaby) and is an amazing parent, as well (along with his wife, Lisa). I was eager to seek his input for this article.
He talked about that since his kids were little they would have jobs to do and part of that is the kids learning to be part of a team – if you don’t do your job, then there’s a hole, or a void, there. Other people are disappointed, or can’t do their jobs if you don't do YOUR job if you work as a team type stuff, whatever. Great stuff, as is usual of him. Great for my article, great to hear as a parent.
But he paused in the middle and went ON and on – like embarrassingly so – about what a great writer he thinks I am, how easy my writing is to read, how I need to write a book, yada, yada. I told him that I really want to write a book, feel called by God to write a book, but have SO many doubts and reasons ‘why not’, blah, blah. I said what I always do, “I walk into Lifeway, look around, and think, ‘The world doesn’t need one more book.’”
His response knocked me flat: “Yeah, but Sarah, that’s just like when my kids don’t do their job. Your book may be that void that one person needs. If God is calling you to do it, it’s that void of not doing your job.”
Just whoa.
Really think about that in the overall realm of God's family. God gives each of us, His children, jobs to do here on earth (check out Ephesians 2:10 if you don't think He has stuff in mind for YOU to do). And we go about our business filling our calendars with our own things and pushing aside His nudging to do our own schedule and agenda.
I'm not a visionary, so I don't see it, but I CAN imagine that if all of God's family did all that God called us to do -- we would be the unstoppable force on this planet that Jesus prayed for us to be in John 17 when he prayed that we would all be one.
No matter what the success of the world may or may not look like, if we are NOT saying ‘yes’ when God calls us to do something – we’re the missing link on His team. We’re not filling the void.
I prayed to see Jesus that day. I definitely heard him. May you hear him today.
