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God wants to do something amazing through your ministry or business. No one can take that away. Your critics can’t, and neither can Satan.
But that doesn’t mean you won’t have to wait for it. Sometimes, the Lord cracks a door and lets you see your ‘future’ before you’re ready to walk through it.
Why does He do that? First, it would be scary if God showed you all your future at once.
You’d take one look and say, “Oh no, the Lord wants me to do that?” You’re simply not ready right now to see everything He wants to do through you.
As you trust the Lord to do what He calls you to do, He also wants to keep you close to Him. It’s like He writes His plan for you on a scroll. You unroll the scroll just a little bit and do what He says. Then you unroll a bit more, and He gives you a little more of the ‘vision.’
You’re not the first leader God has let glimpse the future long before it’s become a reality. He has done that repeatedly throughout history. Centuries ago, the LORD gave Habakkuk a vision for Israel and told him: “For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.” (Habakkuk 2:3 KJV). The NLT translates the verse this way, “If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed.”
God wasn’t late for Habakkuk, and He won’t be tardy regarding His vision for your life, either. God’s timing is perfect. God is always at work, putting together everything according to His plan. God can do more in five minutes on His timing than you can do in 50 years on yours.
While you wait, God has something important for you to do. You’re supposed to be preparing by learning. One person said the lumberjack always sharpens the axe before he cuts down the tree. The sharper the axe means, the bigger the tree he wants to bring down. But sharpening means time and friction. So, it may take time, and there will be some challenges along the way.
It reminds me not to begrudge God the time to prepare me for what He wants me to do in the now for the future. So, what do you need to learn while waiting for God’s ‘vision’ to fulfill your life?
Learn discernment. You need to learn which doors to walk through and which ones to walk past so you can avoid wasting time, money, and energy as you pursue God’s vision for your ministry. Paul writes to the church of Philippi: “And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may [discern] the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ,” (Philippians 1:9-10 NKJV). God wants you to grow in your love for others, but he wants you to do that with both knowledge and discernment so you’ll make the right choices about the doors he puts in front of you.
Learn courage. You may already know the right choices to make about the doors God has placed before you, but you need to grow in your courage. You don’t have the faith right now to take the right step.
My fellow leader, it’s not enough to know what to do. You need the courage to do what the Lord calls you to do. Courage isn’t the absence of fear. It’s stepping out in faith despite your fear.
When Solomon was assigned to build the temple, David gave him some advice: “And David said to his son Solomon, “Be strong and of good courage, and do it; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the LORD God—my God—will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake [abandon] you until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD.”
(1 Chronicles 28:20 NKJV).I’ve been scared about every important decision in my life, but I decided long ago not to let fear dominate my life. So, I have constantly acted contrary to my fear.
Learn to open doors for others. Waiting isn’t easy. When you have a glimpse of something God wants to do through your life, you want it now. But you’re not the only one waiting.
Look around in your ministry or business; you’ll see other people waiting for their open doors. Often, they will have doors in front of them that you can help open. As frequently as you can, learn to open those doors. Love other people. Care about how God will use them. God will put people in your life to do the same for you.
One of Make it Clear Ministries’ values is helping other people and ministries succeed, and the Lord will help us grow!
Don’t waste your waiting time. Let God help you grow into the leader He wants you to be on the other side of the door.
