Daily Power #123

But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. (Rom. 8:25)

By God’s grace, I’ve been a pastor for over half my life now. When I became a Christian, I was still in college, working toward a business degree. Soon I knew God wanted me to be a pastor, and my home church hired me to minister to single adults. The learning curve was huge, but I couldn’t learn fast enough. Within a few months, the singles group, which had about a hundred people to begin with, was down to a half dozen—and Amy and I were two of those!

The church board met with me and told me I might not be cut out for the job. I was devastated and confused. I was discouraged and tempted to quit, but my wife reminded me of the ways we had seen God confirm our calling. She encouraged me to talk things over with our pastor, Nick Harris.

While he encouraged me to take the board’s critique to heart, he also said something I’ve never forgotten: “The more God wants to use you, the more likely you’ll be tempted to quit. But I see real potential in you. You came here for my advice. So here it is: don’t you dare quit. Stay the course. Wait on God.”

In what area of your life do you need to wait on God instead of listening to what other people are saying? Today exercise patience by staying the course when it would be easier to quit.

Power Lift

Thank you, God, for giving me a calling and a purpose for my life. I know I’ll face obstacles, but give me patience to persevere when I’m tempted to run away.