When Next Is Now Sample

Day 1: Faithful in Fields

There was nothing special about the day Elisha received his calling. Our first encounter with him in the Bible is out in the middle of a field plowing with a team of oxen (not quite what you’d be doing if you were trying to make a name for yourself). Chances are, that day looked like every other day to Elisha.

It can be easy to think we need to go out of our way to find our calling and jumpstart it into reality. We go looking for the right people, the right programs, the right platforms, etc., but Elisha wasn’t out looking for God’s calling or trying to prove himself worthy. God didn’t need Elisha to go looking for his calling at all; the Bible says God (or more specifically, God working through Elijah) FOUND Elisha.

The funny thing is, Elisha wasn’t even told he was being called. He wasn’t told anything — no sit-down explanation over coffee, no five year plan, nothing! The prophet, Elijah, simply threw his cloak over Elisha and kept walking. Yet Elisha followed him. Why? For one thing, Elijah was not just any prophet — he was THE prophet of the day. This man was on a whole other level of celebrity status at the time. Not only had God used Elijah to perform some pretty insane miracles, but the king, queen, and all their idol-worshiping prophets had some VERY public beef with him. Elisha knew exactly who Elijah was, but even more importantly, he knew who Elijah served. Elisha wasn’t signing up to follow a plan — he was following a person.

The calling on your life won’t always come with an announcement. Like Elijah’s cloak, your calling might be something placed on your shoulders, like being asked to stay later after church to help out or taking on more responsibility on the team. Regardless of how you receive your calling, know that you don’t need to go out looking for it; God will send it your way when the time comes. Your job is to be faithful right now with what’s in your hands today so you’re ready for what God wants to do next.

Are you trying to force your calling, or are you waiting for God’s timing? Where can you be faithful right now?