Post by Carla Nelson
Of the six steps that I have been sharing with you, there are two steps that proved to be the most productive for me. Today I will share one of those steps and in part 6, I’ll share the other. Getting to work in the ministry is today’s focus. I remember when I first accepted Christ as my Savior, my Pastor said, (restating as I remember it) “Now get to work! Come into the Kingdom working.” And that’s what I did. Truly one of the most instrumental things I could have ever done.
Moving builds momentum, so I started my journey of discovery in one area of ministry and progressed to other areas as my aptitude developed. Some of you may be asking - What do I do? What ministry do I select to volunteer with? Well not just anything for the sake of saying oh I volunteer for the ministry. Start with where your desire is.
“The king’s heart is like a stream of water directed by the Lord he guides it wherever he pleases.”
For me I started with what I knew - the choir. Having an open heart and mind and being observant, doors of opportunity opened. Later someone within the ministry asked if I had interest in volunteering for a non-profit organization outside of our ministry. I took her up on the opportunity. So I volunteered inside and outside of the walls of the House of God. I grew spiritually, relationally and definitely further developed my skills. I began to function with skills I didn’t even know I had.
“As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”
My journey of development and preparation to begin my mission in life continued over the course of 16 years. During this period of time I obtained a Spiritual Mentor/Parent, a Pastor who has been given spiritual insight into my life. He began to give me assignments based upon God’s instructions and those projects led to development of my skills and faith. Even for me to begin to start writing again. My Mentor who I haven’t had contact with me in some time and gave me an assignment that reaffirmed my desire in writing and confirmed that I was supposed to put the skill to work.
I cannot, nor will I say it will take the same amount of time for you. I can say that when I look back over those years, there were times that I knew what I was supposed to be doing, yet like the children of Israel who stayed in the wilderness for 40 years because of their mindset, so did I. Either I let the fears of others invade my heart or wrestled with my own doubts and fears. Nevertheless, God is faithful even if we are not.
When we look at celebrities it often seems like all of a sudden a person rose to the top from out of no-where and that is not the case. When you hear their life story, you realize, nah there was a process for that person. Our process is customized based upon the lessons we need to learn and how long it takes us to be receptive to learning them. We determine based upon our mindset how long it will take to get there. We will remain in one position or situation until we learn the lesson we need to learn. If you fail the first grade, repeatedly, you’ll stay in the first grade until you learn the objectives predefined for the first grade. Whether that involves getting a tutor, switching teachers, schools or moving to another state, you remain in that same grade until you accomplish what’s required and then and only then can you move forward.
Discovery of purpose is a process. The thing is you have to start somewhere, and it’s better to start late than never at all. Be patient, walk in the spirit, maintain a teachable spirit, be aware and enjoy don’t reject your journey. You will discover your purpose. He put it there for you to unearth it.
“Whatever you do, do well. For when you go to the grave, there will be no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.”
“It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings.”
