Called by God
Imagine you are a manager. But unlike most managers, you know your employees very well. You know them well enough that when it comes time to assign them a task, you know who will do the best job at each assignment. They’re all clamoring for the best assignments, the ones with the greatest responsibility, the ones that pay the most. You’re unmoved by that because you know that some of your employees can’t handle great responsibility. You know that for some the best thing they can do is play a supporting role. But ask yourself this: is there a time you might move one of those employees into a role of greater responsibility and move one of the others into lesser responsibility?
Managers are people and people make mistakes. But God doesn’t . It is within God’s ability to not only know what abilities his servants have, but to know what situations they will face over a period of time. It isn’t likely that a manager would put someone they don’t think can handle a bad situation in a role of responsibility if they believe one of the other employees can. I’m beginning to realize that God does.
A few years ago, I was the chairman of a committee during the time when that committee was more active than it had been in the previous ten years. There were things that needed to be done, recommendations to be made. And we got it done. Just when I was getting comfortable in that role, the time to elect the committee came up and I was not elected to serve on the committee. I was disappointed. I knew better than to make an issue of it, but I didn’t understand why.
Years have passed and I find myself as the chairman of another committee. In the few short weeks since I have been placed in that position, I can already see that we are on track to have more meetings and make more recommendations than we did in all of the two or three years prior to this. Some of the problems we face aren’t easy issues. I wonder how the previous chairman was able to go for as long as he did without calling a meeting.
I believe that what I’m seeing is the hand of God. I have done nothing to cause the issues we face, but God knew they were coming. We know that God is ultimately responsible for deciding who gets various positions. What we might not stop to realize is that he knows who will handle the situation best before the situation occurs. When things are going smoothly, he knows who is best suited for that situation. Maybe he puts people in that he wants to give a taste of responsibility. Maybe he wants them to see the importance he places on them. Maybe he wants to train them for even more responsibility. But when things start getting more difficult, he may have other people in mind for the job.
We might wonder why God would give us responsibility for a while and then take it away. That is the wrong way to look at things. Look instead at the situations you face when God does give you responsibility for something. You may begin to see some similarities. Are you the person he calls upon during a time of action? Are you the person he calls upon when difficult situations arise? Are you the person he calls upon when the people around you need encouragement? Embrace the responsibility you are given because God knows you are the best person for that job. And when the time comes that someone else is the best person for the job, step aside graciously, knowing that God will call on you again when there is a task that demands your talents.
Managers are people and people make mistakes. But God doesn’t . It is within God’s ability to not only know what abilities his servants have, but to know what situations they will face over a period of time. It isn’t likely that a manager would put someone they don’t think can handle a bad situation in a role of responsibility if they believe one of the other employees can. I’m beginning to realize that God does.
A few years ago, I was the chairman of a committee during the time when that committee was more active than it had been in the previous ten years. There were things that needed to be done, recommendations to be made. And we got it done. Just when I was getting comfortable in that role, the time to elect the committee came up and I was not elected to serve on the committee. I was disappointed. I knew better than to make an issue of it, but I didn’t understand why.
Years have passed and I find myself as the chairman of another committee. In the few short weeks since I have been placed in that position, I can already see that we are on track to have more meetings and make more recommendations than we did in all of the two or three years prior to this. Some of the problems we face aren’t easy issues. I wonder how the previous chairman was able to go for as long as he did without calling a meeting.
I believe that what I’m seeing is the hand of God. I have done nothing to cause the issues we face, but God knew they were coming. We know that God is ultimately responsible for deciding who gets various positions. What we might not stop to realize is that he knows who will handle the situation best before the situation occurs. When things are going smoothly, he knows who is best suited for that situation. Maybe he puts people in that he wants to give a taste of responsibility. Maybe he wants them to see the importance he places on them. Maybe he wants to train them for even more responsibility. But when things start getting more difficult, he may have other people in mind for the job.
We might wonder why God would give us responsibility for a while and then take it away. That is the wrong way to look at things. Look instead at the situations you face when God does give you responsibility for something. You may begin to see some similarities. Are you the person he calls upon during a time of action? Are you the person he calls upon when difficult situations arise? Are you the person he calls upon when the people around you need encouragement? Embrace the responsibility you are given because God knows you are the best person for that job. And when the time comes that someone else is the best person for the job, step aside graciously, knowing that God will call on you again when there is a task that demands your talents.
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