In Due Time

"And the Lord said to Joshua, 'Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses.'"
Joshua 3:7

"That day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel, and they revered him all the days of his life, just as they had revered Moses."
Joshua 4:14

I know that many of you reading this, know and believe that God has a specific calling in your life. You may have believed it for a long time but not seen the promise come to pass. Over the course of time, you may have lost confidence in the call and even felt that you were wrong to imagine such a thing. Let me comfort you with these words: What God has said, he will do! The problem is this; our idea of when God should release us is sometimes different than his timing.
   While praying the other day, I told God that I have known that I was called to ministry since I was seventeen years old. I had just come to know Jesus when I first felt it. At that moment, I knew that this was what my life was about. Although the road has had many twists and turns, I have never lost sight of the truth that I knew all those years ago. But this truth is even more important than that: I now know that even if I had refused to listen to the call in my life, God would still love me. I know that his love for me is not dependent on what I do. It is dependent on who I am. Nevertheless, I have a call in my life and I must fulfill it in order to be fulfilled myself.
    It has been 36 years since then. I have been a pastor, a businessman, a musician, an employee, an unemployed person, a salesman, a husband, and a father. Through all these things, the call that God placed on my life is still in place. Yet sometimes, I still struggle with whether I have ever really fulfilled it. Like Joshua, I must simply wait for God to do what he said he would do. I feel that I am just now hitting my stride. I believe the fullness of what God has planned for me is right in front of me now. The best days of my life with God are still ahead of me. What he spoke long ago, is just now really coming to fruition.
    So if God has given you a promise. If he has shown you what you will become, or what you will do for him. Rest in the truth of his words. He will not and cannot lie. If you are frustrated because you have yet to see the fulfillment of the promise, be secure in the truth that he will complete what he has begun in you. There will be a day when you are exalted in the eyes of the people. But never forget this: You are already exalted in the eyes of God. This is what really matters. His timing is perfect and you are his chosen one. Let his peace fill you as you wait for his promise to unfold.