FOLLOWING THE CALL
During the last 10 days, I’ve encountered personal struggles in my life like nothing I ever experienced before. The sudden and unexpected events that took place caused me to call into question a calling that I’ve felt for years. I started asking myself questions, such as “Am I good enough? What did I do wrong to cause this to happen? Am I following the wrong path? Am I really cut out for the life that I thought I was called to lead?”
As I was going through this storm, a retired Army chaplain who I’m friends with shared a Scripture verse with me that answered these questions for me and made my path clear. He referred me to Philippians 1:6 which says, “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” When I read this, tears immediately began to flow. I realized that despite the recent events I experienced, God is not done with me yet. In fact, it became evident to me that God would use this difficult time in my life to help shape me into the man He has called me to be. Rather than believing the lies of the enemy, I will use this experience to strengthen my faith, deepen my relationship with Christ, and increase my resolve to follow the calling God has placed on my life.
During this third and final week of prayer and fasting, I believe God is calling all of us to walk in faith and receive the blessings He has for us. In the military, when a person becomes an officer, it is called receiving a commission. The definition of this word is “an instruction, command or duty given to a person or group of people.” Within a spiritual context, I believe that God has a plan for each of our lives. He’s given each of us unique gifts, intended to accomplish a specific purpose. As this new year progresses, the question that lies before each of us is whether we will accept the commission that God has for us or listen to the lies of the enemy and retreat in fear, thinking that we are not good enough to deserve His blessings. When these attacks come, we must cling to Scripture and believe the truth of Philippians 4:13, which says “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” May God be with all of us as we conclude this time of prayer and fasting and discern His will for our lives.
