Know Your Why: Finding and Fulfilling Your Calling Sýnishorn

Called to Wait

In a rapidly changing world, we all face new seasons in our lives, some we choose and others that are forced upon us: one stage of life ends for another to begin; new career challenges lead to different jobs; new opportunities change our ways of living.

In these times, we have a tendency to believe that nothing good will come from this experience of waiting. But this is the most valuable time of our lives in Christ: when he draws near and works with us to align our wills to his purpose. This season enables us to respond to his call for the next phase of our lives. There is excitement in this time if we have the right attitude and if we can embrace rather than resist the challenges of the season.

Draw Close to God

God uses times of waiting to draw us closer to him, to ourselves, and to our loved ones. So many people have told me that in times of uncertainty they have drawn closer to not only God but also their spouses and others near them. In the battle for our attention, God often has to let us go through a period of adversity so that we might attune our ears to his voice and discern his direction.

In a frenzied world we often slot God into overactive lives, trying to force him to fit around our routines. This never works. A waiting period is a time to recognize that we have drifted into a world of expectation and instant answers. This is not the real world. Often God’s way is to waken within us a calling, but then to allow us to recognize that his greatest desire is to draw close to us.

In the book of Isaiah, King Hezekiah fell ill and received word from the prophet Amos that he was about to die. The king cried out to God for salvation, and after a short period of waiting, God sent Isaiah to inform him that he would now live. Unsurprisingly, the king was fairly relieved! But even before he was cured, King Hezekiah started singing a song of praise to the Lord.

In the darkness of his uncertainty, Hezekiah found himself drawn close to God—able to appreciate afresh the grace and love of his Savior.