The Pull
I remember the day I told my boss in Florida that I was praying about a move to NYC. It was actually a very difficult conversation. I couldn't explain what I was feeling in that moment. I didn't understand what God was doing, I didn't know why I couldn't stop thinking about New York or why every time someone mentioned it I would tear up immediately (I’m a cryer but that was weird even for me). I explained how I didn’t want to go, to which He replied “but you still feel the pull.” That was it. I couldn't fight this pull to NYC because it was God calling me to a new place that He had already prepared for me. He knew all the ways that my life would radically change with this one yes.
A "calling", I learned is just God pulling you toward something great He has for you. Something that will fulfill you and bring Him glory. It's a pull towards something God has planted in your heart long before you were born. This pull on our hearts, is God saying "it's time" and that can be scary. Sometimes, we fight our calling without even knowing it. You may find yourself saying "there's no way God would want ME to do THAT...I'm a mess, I'm not smart enough, I don't have the money"...I don't, I can't...that's the enemy. You many never actually feel like you are qualified to be used in the powerful ways He's calling you to. You may never even know all the powerful ways he's using you but God has equipped you in a unique way with certain skills and gifts to reach certain people or places, He has been preparing you for this moment your whole life.
Following a calling isn't just about us. Stepping out in obedience to follow a call opens the door for someone else to walk in obedience in their own story. It's always about God and the people he loves so much. It's always about bringing Him glory first. But God is so good that he lets us have moments where we get a front row seat to the work He is doing in and through us to bring genuine life change and he has created our callings so that we may find joy in them, because He has wired us to thrive in the place he calls us to.
I have to admit, moving to NYC was a huge adjustment for me. There were hard days, there were lonely days, there are still days when I have questions about it all. Then there are days when I just smile, for no reason at all (this is most days). I smile when I think back to those first few month with all the questions and now I’m here on the other side of that first step and I can see His answers unfolding one at a time.
Saying yes to the pull doesn’t mean all the questions will be answered or even that it will be easy but each new yes to God builds upon the story He’s writing with your life and I can promise you that the story He’s writing is perfect!
And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ returns. — Philippians 1:6
What is pulling on you today?
Is there a place or a person or a cause that you feel like God is laying on your heart over and over again? I want to challenge you to take one step in the direction of that pull. Maybe just make a phone call to find out more information, maybe it's just having a conversation with a trusted mentor and saying it out loud. Sometimes just acknowledging that you know it's there is the first step, God will provide the next :)
