I remember hearing the story of a Preacher who had been faithful to his calling for 20 years. For 20 years he pastored his flock, he married their kids, baptized the converted, counseled the weary, visited the sick, etc. Then one Sunday, out the blues, he informed his congregation he was resigning as Pastor. Now, to be clear, he had not committed some heinous sin or anything of that nature; he was an upright man. It turned out that he had entered the ministry as a result of the encouragement of his Preacher Dad and other Pastor friends of his father. He had not entered the ministry because he believed that was his calling and as a result, he was living a lie and he had had enough. Charles Spurgeon, a great preacher of the 19th century said, "When God means a creature to fly, He gives it wings; and when He intends men to preach, he gives them abilities. Better to discourage a man's climbing than help him to break his neck."
I believe God has a calling for everyone and as a result, he has gifted us accordingly. The problem is many of us never find employment in the area we are gifted in and the result is unhappy lives. It turned out this Pastor's first love and gifts were in carpentry, and he decided to follow that dream. By the way, this wasn't a jump in the dark; he had be doing carpentry on the side for years. In fact, people would jokingly say of him......... he could build a house in the dark and it turn out right. In years past he struggled as a Pastor , but now he flourished as a carpenter. In fact, he even used his gifts to help the needy. How many people today are living a lie? They hate what they do and as a result, their work performance is mediocre. Because this Pastor turned Carpenter followed his true gifts, he found happiness. That happiness translated into a better job performance which lead to happier customers.
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