Driven by Eternity With John BevereSample

Putting Down Roots

I have discovered that God will give you the overall picture for your life, showing you the end from the beginning while not revealing all the details in-between. God speaks to us this way so we must continue to rely on faith instead of reason. We must trust in His understanding rather than our own.

After God revealed to me that He had called me to ministry, He led me on what looked as though it went in the opposite direction—just like Joseph going into slavery in order to become a great leader or Moses running into the wilderness before saving his people. God led me to take an engineering job in Dallas, far away from any ministry school I knew at the time.

He told me which church to go to, and He told me to plant myself there. This was the church where I was raised up through serving, which was the start of the path that brought me to where I am now.

Have you planted yourself in a local church? If you haven’t, it’s to your benefit to get connected to one. This is one of the most important steps to discovering and living out the call of God on your life.

The early believers we see in the book of Acts were truly planted in the local body. They met together, devoted themselves to the apostles’ teachings, ate together, and visited each other’s homes every week. In other words, they held a common vision and did life together. When need arose, they considered the seven men chosen to serve as honored among the rest.

One of these seven, Philip, eventually grew into a well-known evangelist. Yet even after his reputation and influence grew, he was still known as “one of the seven” (Acts 21:8). He was still recognized for where he planted all those years before, where he unglamorously waited on tables to serve food to widows.

In looking for your calling, be like Philip. Plant in the local church where God leads you and serve there. This is God’s prescription for learning to flourish in His kingdom.

Has this reading plan stirred in you a desire to make your life count for both today and forever? If so, I recommend you check out my book, Driven by Eternity.