Now before I tell you the rest of my story from last week, I want to remind of the question at hand, are you loyal to a fault? Loyal to a friendship or a relationship, even a family member, who may have become a distraction or a disruption in your life.  This may even apply to a grown child, (wait, that may be for just me).  Now I am by no means suggesting that we sever ties with those that we love, however, we may have to set some boundaries or possibly establish some distance, so that the Lord can do what only He can… or maybe we are loyal to a job, a position, even a church, that we have lost sight of our purpose and even ignored our calling.  The Lord may be allowing us the time let it go, or He may just have to take it away. You may want to think about that for a moment.  May I remind you that the Lord knows what’s Best for us and His Timing is perfect.

So, back to my story, amid the agony of my decision regarding returning to my church, I realized that this was not just about COVID concerns.  My church and I have changed a lot over the past 3 years.  However, the Holy Spirit said, “Call your Pastor, you cannot just walk away without a conversation.  I have not taken your church away from you, you will need to have a spiritual covering of a Pastor, no matter where I take you.  I just want you to know that a church nor anything else can stand in the way of your calling”.  

I believe that we all must understand that as we make choices and decisions in all aspects of our lives, our desire must be to be in the Will of God.  Of course, all our choices will not be the “right” ones or the “best” ones, however, we should have a standard for our friendships, relationships, (well, we can’t pick our families!), jobs and even churches that are in accordance with His plan for us and aligns with God’s Will for our lives. 

So, back to my story, the Holy Spirit reminded me that shortly after joining his church, it was my pastor, who recognized and helped me to acknowledge my calling to the Word of God, to preach and to teach.  I cannot even begin to tell you the details of my conversation with my Pastor, but one of the most important things, he said to me was that he has seen me on the various social media platforms, he recognizes my anointing and my ministry, and he is there to support me and with that I had the peace that I needed.  But, although the Holy Spirit had addressed my concern, in essence, He hadn’t answered the question. 

Remember when I said in an earlier post, that there are times when the Lord’s first answer, may not be His final answer.  For me, I must always stay connected, and so should you, so that we can hear His entire answer.  We can’t just take the first part or just any part and run with it.  So, I was listening to a message and the preacher was talking about the story of the prophet Samuel.  You may remember, Samuel was Hannah’s son, who was called to be a prophet at a very young age, that’s another powerful message, but that’s for another day.  What was interesting to me is that the preacher focused on Samuel’s hearing and recognizing the voice of God.  Near the end of his message, he spoke a word of prophecy and said, “Return to the first place where you heard His voice, that place of chaos and confusion”.  So, it definitely got my attention, but was that for me and what would that mean? 

Well, I guess I’d better keep listening to what the Holy Spirit is saying and wait for His final answer…