Waiting for the Call

For many years, I have had this feeling that I would be involved in some type of mission work, something more than just the occasional week-long trip with a church group. When I would attend conferences and they would ask those who are considering going into missions to stand up, I would stand. My heart would break when I’d see documentaries about the struggles that people are going through around the world. But when it came down to actually following this pulling of my heart, my wife and I kept putting it off, even though we really didn’t know why. Have you ever felt like you were missing out on something that God has dreamed for you by making excuses for why you can’t obey Him?

After my wife spent a few weeks in Uganda last summer, we decided it was time. We had no idea where we could go, whom we would partner with, or how long we would go—we just knew it was time to get up, move, and trust God to lead us. We had been waiting so long for that “divine e-mail” to tell us exactly when and where to go, when the whole time God was waiting for us to say that we were ready to follow Him, fully surrendered.

As we began to discern the place and period of time, God made Himself so clear to us. Our pastor had heard about an HIV/AIDS ministry in Cape Town, South Africa called The Living Hope Community Centre (www.livinghope.co.za). The ministry’s objective is to prevent and treat the spread of HIV while presenting people with the hope that comes in Jesus Christ. We wanted to plug into an established ministry where we could assist with work that was happening before we got there, and would continue long after we left. As the doors continued to open, we felt God leading us to Living Hope.

My wife and I learned that sometimes God is waiting for us to take the first steps. He had been pushing us to do this for so long, but we had to be willing to move forward and trust that He was going to meet us there. Is there a place in your ministry, family life, community, or elsewhere that God has been pushing and calling you? Could it be that He’s now waiting for you to take some steps before He shows you the rest of the picture?


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