First person: When God’s call is clear, why do we sometimes have to wait?

In the end, we all desire for our lives to have mattered — that we had value and made a positive difference along the way.

Some seasons provide ample opportunity for us to thrive and sense success; other moments drag us down with discouragement and disappointment.

Still, God is working through it all, and we are growing into the person needed for the next phase of our assignment.

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If we don’t give up or become impatient and take a different route, we may get to see what God has been up to and be privileged to be part of it.

Author and Bible study leader Richard Blackaby explains it clearly in “The Inspired Leader: 101 Biblical Reflections for Becoming a Person of Influence.”

He says, “God is positioning His servants in crucial roles throughout the marketplace so they can impact peoples’ lives globally, change their world and uplift His name.

“God placed you where you are for a purpose,” Blackaby writes. “Do you know what it is? You may have plans for your career and for your company, but God has one too. Whose plans are you following?”

We often let our preferences and our desire to quickly achieve our goals overrule the methodical and purposeful path God intends.

We push for a packed schedule, sold-out event and all-in support.

We may indeed have a clear vision of God’s call on our lives, but the temptation always exists to take charge and determine within our own minds how to live out the call.

Praying through every step while calmly and confidently waiting on the Lord is an exercise in discipline and fortitude.

It can be difficult to move at a slower, strategic pace, especially when we are evaluated at every level by how influential, how engaged and how popular our efforts are.

At the same time, it can be agonizing trying to understand why others can’t see the value of what we know God has clearly called us to share with them.

How can they not see it? How can they not get involved? How can they not carve out time in their schedule to participate in the service project, discipleship opportunity or outreach activity? Why won’t they get trained?

Why would they miss out on the opportunity? What keeps them from fully supporting the cause? Can’t they see how vital it is? Why would they not want to participate when it makes sense to us?

While we may not understand, we must remember how complex life is for all of us.

Every situation is different and each person walks through various seasons of life that require a  triage mentality.

We can’t truly know the weight others are shouldering, nor can we know all they are attempting to juggle.

It’s like the saying goes, we can’t really understand unless we’ve walked in their shoes.

Our mental, emotional and physical capacities all fall within different limits — but limits exist for all of us.

At the same time, we learn and grow by walking through specific experiences that prepare us for the full extent of God’s call on our lives — and that takes time.

Focus on next steps

So, rather than fretting about what isn’t happening yet or who isn’t present, what if we took the opposite approach and fully invested in those in front of us?

What if we focused our energy on staying in tune with the Lord and looking for His guidance every day and with each step?

What if we poured our energy into polishing our skills for the areas we’ve been called?

What if we trusted the Lord with what the concepts of thriving, succeeding and influencing means in our lives?

Instead of looking around at all the ones not participating, let’s keep our attention on those God has given us to love and help equip for their next steps.