https://odb.org/2023/09/08/the-god-of-surprises
I recall during my varsity days of having responded to an altar call to go into full-time ministry to plant churches. Of course, it was in the context of my previous church, and things did not work out for that church in the long run. Although I had continued to serve God in two other churches after that, I never did go full time. Instead, I have pursued a corporate career all these years, like my peers. I got married, settled down, and raised a family. But perhaps like the person in today’s life story in ODB, I may have a second chance later in life.
Peter and his brother Andrew, and James and his brother John, however, responded to Jesus’s call immediately. They dropped everything they were doing and followed Jesus – from fishermen to fishers of men, almost in an instant into a lifetime of service until their dying day. They suffered and endured persecution but persevere on for His name’s sake. There was a lull, perhaps a few days after Jesus was arrested, sentenced to death, and died. But after Christ resurrected and appeared to them, it was all systems go, especially after the Day of Pentecost when the promised helper, the Holy Spirit, descended upon them and they spoke in tongues and was filled with power from high.
If the Lord had called us before whether to full-time or to a life of a missionary to a far land or to an around the world trip via Dolos and for some that could just be to the island of Borneo, don’t give up! Continue to believe in that calling and trust God to make it happen. That day will come. We will be able to break free from our jobs and serve God in the space He had called us to. The blessing to us is perhaps that we will be that bigger brick in the universal church that will take more weight of ministry upon our shoulders. As we launch into a life of faith, we will see God’s supernatural and amazing power working through us in the lives of people, pulling them out of the miry clay and transforming them into beautiful pieces – indeed, beauty for ashes.
Ronnie's Thoughts 