For such a time as NOW...!

Well today Mr John Graham spoke at church and had some very good points to make indeed.  He spoke about Joseph and how he was sold into slavery by his brothers, and ended up being in prison (read the full story in Genesis 37).  Let's think about this.  Joseph.  Slavery.  Prison.  That's definitely not much to make someone cheerful or full of the 'joys of the Lord'.  What the heck was God doing, particularly when it had been God who had given Joseph some of the dreams and visions and ideas which had got him into this situation in the first place?  Joseph had two choices.  He could sit there all miserable, sad, angry, disappointed and disillusioned, or he could choose God, believe His promises and live out the calling God had upon his life there and then, in that prison cell.  And the latter is exactly what he did.  To cut a long story short, he ended up in high places, had favor with the Pharaoh and was put in charge of the store houses during the famine later on.  How excellent, and what a good man!

So it's no surprise that I often don't like being here in Watford.  It was never my plan to come here in the first place. I miss my family and my friends.  I miss the sea.  I miss the pace of life, the culture, the quirky little shops and villages, the accent, being able to speak properly in my real accent without having to speak 'posh' so that people understand me..... (teehee I am teasing).  I get miserable about it quite a lot I suppose.  I get frustrated and I don't always know what the bigger picture is.  Yet, like Joseph, I know God has a calling on my life.  And, like Joseph I have a choice to make.  I can either sit here all miserable and angry and hide in a little hole until I am able to move back (if I move back!), or I can live life to the full here and now, live out God's calling on my life, get involved, do stuff, live life to the full, live in the fast lane, be excited, be challenged, be changed, enjoy my life down here...  So I do.  And it's wonderful.  It's also really flipping hard at times too!  Don't get me wrong, I'm not always happy about having made this choice, and there are days when I am miserable and sad (it's been particularly tough so far this year actually), but at least I try.  Because I know God has a purpose, He knows the bigger picture, He has a plan for my life and it is a good plan.  He brought me here for a reason.  He has carried me down to this bedroom, in this house, working in this particular job and being part of this particular church for a reason.  I don't always see it.  I don't always understand it, but I believe it.  I don't understand how my microwave works, but I press a button and it heats up my food.

You know, I'm sick of waiting for the perfect time and the perfect place and the perfect location to do stuff.  I'm sick of waiting for my book to be published, so I started writing a blog instead.  I got fed up of flowery worship songs, so I started singing because I believe God wanted to make a difference and stop me sitting around and complaining.  I was annoyed at there being no 20's age group venue at Spring Harvest at few years ago, so I sorted out a meet up in the coffee shop and over 25 people came some of whom I am still friends with years later.  Now is the time.  There is no time like the present.  We are here for 'such a time as this' (Esther 4:14).  Even if you are not sure what it is God wants you to do, do something, set the ball rolling.  I'm sure Joseph didn't expect to be interpreting Pharaoh's dreams when he started interpreting his fellow inmate's dreams - he just started somewhere. 

I guess as John said this morning, the engine might be running but we may be in neutral.  Now is the time to stop being in neutral and to move up a gear.  Let's stop waiting around for the go ahead and just go.  Let's stop waiting for the flag to go down and start the race.  With God.  Knowing He is with us.  Even Jacob was scared when he had to face his brother Esau again after taking his birthright (Genesis 32).  He was afraid that Esau might kill him.  But he clung to God's promise knowing that God had vowed to make him a great nation.  Cling to God's promises and His calling in your life today.  Keep going.  Don't be put off by fear.  Journey this with God and never walk alone.