You’ve had a desire to use your talents in a different way than they are being used right now. This might mean doing volunteer work or picking up a hobby of some sort, or it could mean something as big as a career change. The one thing you do know is that you have the ability to do something more, or at least different.
The years pass by and your attempts to use other gifts have not gone unnoticed, but you feel like you’re not really getting anywhere. It’s not that you haven’t had opportunities to branch out or develop your other talents. You just feel like you are maintaining your talents rather than cultivating them to their full potential.
After years of internal struggle about what you are supposed to do with your life and wondering if you’ve been chasing a pipe dream, you hear a simple question. “Are you willing to pass up the opportunity of a lifetime to find yourself in the place that God has for you in this world?”
If you are like me, your immediate reaction to this question is “Of course. I would pass up anything if it means that I would end up where God wants me to be.” But as you ponder what the question really means, you begin to wonder what would happen if that opportunity is what God has for you.
Let me give you a simple test that I am learning. You have to start with the understanding that where you are is where you should be. That doesn’t mean that you will be there forever, or that you have to be content where you are. With that in mind, ask yourself if you are doing the best that you can where you are. Are you being faithful where you are? Can you do better with what you’ve already been given?
The way you answer those questions can give you insight into whether the opportunity of a life time is the right decision for you or not. If you are not doing the very best that you can where you are, you are probably in a place where you should pass up big opportunities that involve changing where you are. If you blowing it out of the park and being more than faithful with what you’ve been given, it’s more likely that an opportunity to bigger things is from God.
With that being said, this is not a scientific test that you can bank on every time. You still need to be in prayer and fellowship with God to be sure of where He is leading you. Otherwise you are just chasing what you think will be enough, and it will never be enough.
Looking at myself, I know I can do more where I am with what I have. Instead of chasing dreams that I’ve had for many years, I am focusing on what I am called to do where I am right now. If it is God’s will to fulfill my dreams, they will be fulfilled in His timing.
