This morning I feel led to share somewhat of a personal testimony that flows in the vein of the messages I have been teaching. As I thought about the three years the Apostle Paul spent in isolation, in Tarsus, waiting for the opportunity to walk in his divine assignment, the Lord reminded me of my own story. I see parallels between Paul and I, which is probably why I he’s my favorite Biblical character.
Paul spent three years in Tarsus. Let’s think about those years for a moment. Paul had invested his entire life into becoming part of the Jewish religious elite, only to find out that he was on the wrong team. He was fighting against the God he thought he was serving. So while he was in Tarsus, dying to self and dying to everything he had invested his life into, I can imagine how he felt. He contemplated his life, his past, his future, his decisions. While he was sure that God called him to preach the Gospel, he was not sure when God was going to release him to do so. Paul could not ‘make it happen’, as he was so accustomed to. Paul had to trust and wait on God. So when Barnabas came through that door and invited him to Antioch to lead the church there, I am sure Paul was elated.
You’re probably thinking, “So what does this have to do with you, Rick?” I’m about to tell you. Back in 2000 I was a young preacher. I had been preaching for a few years, I had already gotten the opportunity to lead a congregation, and I knew I was called to preach/Pastor for the rest of my life. However, like Paul, prior to coming to Christ I was used to ‘making things happen’ for myself, and now God wanted me to learn to trust and wait on Him.
It was early in the morning one Sunday. I was in church an hour before we started the service. I was praying, by myself, in the sanctuary. No one else was in the room, but me and God. I cried out to God. I wanted to know why things were not happening faster for me. I saw ministry opportunities come for my friends, and in my estimation (please don’t judge me), I thought I was better at preaching than they were. So I wanted to know why things were not moving at the pace I wanted. The Lord reminded me of the story of Moses, when he was born. Although Moses was destined for greatness, he was born with a death sentence from Pharaoh and his mother had to hide him.
The Lord began to speak to me about Moses and what was happening while his mother hid him. He had me to picture Moses as a baby and his mother holding him and feeding him. I could see her hiding him and feeding him. She hid him and fed him and he grew as a result. She kept hiding him, she kept feeding him, and he kept growing. The Bible says that when he could no longer be hid, she released him into the water. When he was released, he was actually being released into his destiny. God saw to it that the same man, Pharaoh, who had signed Moses’ death decree, actually wound up financing his education and preparing him for his life’s assignment.
The key part of the story is that there came a day when Moses could no longer be hid. The Lord said to me, “I am hiding you for your assignment. I am feeding you while I am hiding you, and you are growing. There will come a day when you can no longer be hid. One that day I will release you into your destiny.” 16 years later, that day has not come yet. I have served in ministry at every level. God uses me to reach people all over the world every day. Isabella and I now oversee a church in the Dominican Republic, along with the two schools there. We are involved in ministry every day of our lives. But in many ways, my life in ministry has not even started yet. God has not released me yet. In many ways He is still hiding me, and I am waiting for the day when I can no longer be hid. That day came for Paul when Barnabas came walking through his door. That day will come for me, prayerfully soon. And I believe that day will come for you.
When I tell you to REST in God’s finished work, I am not telling you something I read. I am telling you something live every day. I know what’s it’s like to have greatness in you, to know you are called to something bigger than what you are experiencing, and to have to wait until God releases you. The day came for Moses, the day came for Paul, the day will come for me and I believe it will also come for you!
So what does this mean to you today? A few quick things.
1. Don’t ever give up on your God-given dream. If you’re still living, if there’s blood still flowing through your veins and air still flowing through your lungs, then God is not through with you. There will come a day when you can no longer be hid and you will be released into your destiny.
2. Stay focused, remain humble, keep studying, keep preparing, keep praying and continue to develop your relationship with God. Because what you do when no one knows your name is what will prepare you for the moment when everyone does.
3. If you feel like what you are called to is far bigger than what you are experiencing right now, don’t fret, don’t give up, don’t allow frustration to cause you to throw in the towel. At just the right time you will reap your harvest, you will experience your destiny, if you don’t quit!
Closing Confession: Father, this is a season of refined focus for me. I bring my life into focus in 2016. I focus on You. I focus on my relationship with You. I don’t pursue things. I pursue You and You will see to it that things pursue me. I keep my eyes on You. I resist every inkling to get tired, frustrated, or disillusioned. You are feeding me while You are hiding me, and I am growing. There will come a time when I can no longer be hid. On that day You will release me into my destiny. Until that day I will keep growing in You by dying to me. I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
