Faithfulness in the Call

by Karen Whiting

WE ARE NOT CALLED TO MEASURE OUTCOMES, BUT TO BE FAITHFUL in our call. We leave the results to God who is the great connector. It does mean we strive to do the best and spread the message God gives us as far and as widely as possible.

Paul spent lots of time marketing. He wrote letters, listed his credentials when needed and turned many circumstances into opportunities. A snakebite, time in prison, and a statue to an unknown god became openings to share Christ.

Here are tips to be faithful in following your call:

• Know and state your mission to be clear about what God called you to do. That will help you avoid distractions.

• Pray. Be specific about needs and listen to God. Study Scriptures related to your call.

• Set measurable goals and steps to reach goals.

• List the benefits, the reasons God asked you to follow this call. These encourage you to persist.

• Assess your talents to know what ones to apply and what ones you lack and need to develop.

• List your credentials and build on them. That may mean additional training and certification.

• Post your vision and stay focused. Pray about it and do one thing daily toward achieving it.

• Overcome challenges and life circumstances. Keep working at what you can do.

• Network. Listen to people as they might have a connection you need or story that fits with your mission. Exchange information. Use software help, like camcard.com to store and sort business cards.

• Invest time and money wisely. Study your goal and those with similar ones who succeeded. Save money, even pennies a day add up, to use for needed supplies or travel.

• Engage with people who can assist, starting with family and church. Seek their support. Your church might let you share your talent and practice sharing your message.

• Track your actions and investment of time and money.

• Ask yourself daily if you are being faithful to the call.

God wants you to follow Him and not compare what you do or your results with anyone. Look to Korea and how the first missionaries, such as Horace Newton Allen (1885) saw little measurable success. But they planted seeds that sprouted. In 1974, the church began to grow, and 40 years later they sent out 27,435 missionaries . God sees the future that goes beyond our earthly timeline.

LH