You get the call. Your greatest vocational dream has come true. You have just been hired to do the exact thing God has called you to as part of an organization and with a team of people you dream to work with. Amazing opportunity. Exciting step. Huge impact in the world, needs of real people met.
Your whole salary package is worked out, health insurance, expenses -- the whole package ("I wish I made as much as it costs for me to work here, $96,000 -- not even close, so much goes to taxes, insurance and the like . . . gonna have to cut a few things and simplify, but it is so worth it."
God's Call and Your Decision
You know God has called you. You know you are supposed to do it.
Do you make the move? [ ]Yes [ ]No
Here's the catch: One of your roles -- your first assignment -- is gathering a team that will fund your position on an ongoing basis.
Do you make the move? [ ]Yes [ ]No
Reality Check: Most people who answered yes the first time would answer no the second time. Would your answer change?
The Slavemaster Called "Unknown"
Why did your answer change? What you know didn't change. You still know that God has called you. You still know that you are supposed to do it. The "knows" did not change. Instead, something has been added, a slavemaster had come to town and his name is "unknown." "How the heck is it going to happen." Unknown settles in, infiltrates the known, "maybe God hasn't called me," "what if I'm not supposed to do it?" "Wow, what a disappointment, I had hoped that God had called me; I must have misheard, oh well, I guess not, maybe I will hear for real some day." Or maybe not.
Freedom From The Lies of the Unknown (in every moment)
The truth is that when God calls you to something he invites you into the world of the unknown (understand that this is God calling). When God calls you to the unknown he invites you to go there with the only one who fully knows, the Maker of the Universe who holds you and your wellbeing in his hands -- who knows the answers to the multitudes of the unknowns that cause you to fear and doubt.
My Journey Into The Known
On January 1, 2016 I moved into my full-time call with CRM Empowering Leaders, heading up the Seattle team of ReWire, committed to transforming ordinary people into missionaries in their own communities. My church affirmed my call and seeded me with two months salary and medical insurance to answer God's call.
As the days have turned into weeks and the weeks into the view of my financial untethering just around the corner, I have been blessed beyond words to meet with so many people, sharing what we are doing and why. People that I share with get excited, they are joining in, affirming God's call and the importance of what we are doing here in Seattle and beyond.
Each and every day my need to be connected in with God, the one whose call I have answered is a more and more, moment by moment necessity. The unknown has not gone away -- it seeks to gain voice, to cause fear, to cause doubt, "you are only at 50% of your funding and the paychecks from the church stop in a few short weeks." "Did God really say . . . ?"
A Dream Come True
Our dreams come true only when we move into the known. We don't know what the rest of the path looks like but we know who owns the path, we know what has been made known and that has not changed. And so we walk hand in and with the Known, fearless (mostly) in what has been a grand adventure of faith that we would not miss for all the riches of the world.
Where is God calling you to step out in faith? What do you know? Is your dream gonna come true?
Postscript
My goal in writing this is to share this wonderful faith journey and to invite folks who read it to ask God where he wants them to step out; to free them from the fear of the unknown when they have heard from the Known. This is not intended to be a fundraising vehicle and I don't want our particular need to distract you from asking good questions. That said, because I talked about our need, here is a link to how you can contribute.
