Timing is Everything

Do you know what God has called you to do? If you do, has He given you a timeline?

For me, I have known what the call of God is on my life since I was 16 years old. However, it did not come with a play by play, or a specific timeline. If anyone knows me, they know that I am a very detail oriented person. I enjoy having a detailed outline of every expectation, and a deadline of when it all needs to be done. Unfortunately, that is not always how it works with God, and honestly, thank God!!! He continues to show me time after time that, if I knew every step ahead of time, it would not require any faith or trust in Him. The other HUGE reason is because, a lot of times, our character needs to be cultivated before we get the position so that we can sustain the position.

This reminds me of the story of David. In 1 Samuel, it says that David was anointed to be king when he was a teenager, in other words he knew what the call of God was on his life, but he did not step into the fullness of his purpose until MANY years later. Not only that, there were steps along the way that he needed to walk out before he received the crown. Aside from steps, it says that he was promoted because of his excellence, experience, and faith in God. After he was anointed, because he was an EXCELLENT musician, he was promoted to playing for the king. Then, because he had EXPERIENCE fighting lions and bears in the field as a shepherd boy, he was given permission or the promotion of fighting Goliath on the battlefield. Because of his FAITH IN GOD, he was successful in all of those areas. All of these things happened BEFORE he stepped into his purpose.

I did not go straight to being this perfect musician/singer/songwriter – and trust me, I still have a long way to go! It started by taking voice and piano lessons in third grade. That transitioned into me playing and singing on the worship team in fourth grade at super church, exposure to musical theatre, years of training in confidence on stage and performance preparation. God then captured my heart at 15 years old and revealed my purpose. THEN I started writing music. I did not play my first original worship song until I was on the worship team at Victory at age 18. Four years later, God is still showing me steps I need to take in order to see the depth of what he has called me to, and I am nowhere near perfect! I had no idea that along the way I would be working part-time in an administration position. At first, that sounded completely unnecessary for my calling to music. I learned very quickly that I needed that job to teach me how to manage my time, refine my character, improve how I receive correction, and much more! In a practical sense, even coming on as a youth leader first just felt like I was adding scheduling anxiety. How was I to know that God would use these kids to show me yet another layer to the story? Believe me, He can and will use anything to teach and prune us.

There are a few reasons why I wanted to talk about this topic. 1) If you know what you are called to do, do not worry about every single step. Focus on the stepping stone directly in front of you. God will promote you when you are ready to move. Proverbs 16:9 says, “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.” 2) Do not get discouraged about the place God has you right now! David was brought in from the field (probably a little sweaty, dirty, and smelly) to be anointed as king – and for a while, the field is where he stayed! He was not promoted to the kingdom right away. While he was playing music for king Saul, he still traveled back and forth from the field. He needed experience, a spirit of excellence, and humility and the only way for that to happen was through the steps God placed in front of him.

God wants to develop you before He positions you. Allow Him to work out those potential character flaws. He has a reason for placing you where you work right now. He has a reason for where you live right now. He has a reason for the people in your life right now. He has a reason for everything He does, and everything is to make you better and prepare you for the end goal He has in mind for your life. Strive for excellence wherever God has you. Cultivate the gift(s) He has given you. Be thankful for all of the experience He is giving you by going through all of the steps. These things take TIME, and we serve the Author of Time. He knows what He is doing, I promise! Trust the process.