Don't Wait Around, Looking For A Sign From God; Serve Now

Time is a gift so precious that it is only given to us moment by moment.

"Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." Psalm 90:12

There are crossroads in our life. Times in which we make major decisions about our careers, family or callings. Times when we're not sure what we need to do and are struggling to make the right decision.

During the times we're in the midst of turmoil, when life is coming at us the hardest and we know the decisions we make will affect us for years, if not for a lifetime, it is all too easy to think that we don't have help or someone to turn to for guidance.

That's when God is caring for you the most and is working miracles in your life.

A long time ago, I was at a crossroads in my life. I had a career, a growing family and a comfortable life. But, when life seemed to be going my way, all of a sudden I heard a calling from God. The calling was to go and preach to all the nations.

I don't know why the calling came upon me. I don't know why it came at that particular time in my life. So, I started to explore the call and was appointed as a part-time pastor. For a while, I had the best of both worlds. I could still pursue my career and then preach on the weekends. I still had time for my family and still lived in my own house. I still had my own life, complete and separate from Church.

But I started to feel like I was just giving lip service to God. That I hadn't yet decided to be all in on God's plan in my life. And honestly, God was right. I wasn't all in. I didn't want to give up my house. I didn't want to give up my career and rely upon the kindness of strangers to support my family. I was a self-made man and proud of it.

Then, one cold night on top of a mountain in Ozark, Ark., God worked a miracle for me. I had gone hunting and spent a good part of the day propped up against a tree, wrestling with God in prayer. I was fighting this calling to go into full-time ministry. Each time God was urging me to go, I would come up with an excuse as to why I didn't want to.

Finally, as the sun set, I made my way back to camp, still undecided. And I breathed the words so many of us have whispered before. I said, "God, if you really want me to go into ministry then give me a sign."

That was my way out. My excuse to not answer God's call. God wouldn't give me a sign, I thought to myself. And if I didn't get a sign, then I could still keep my comfortable life and put the struggle behind me.

Then, as I sat by the fire late that night, God gave me a sign.

I looked across the beautiful expanse of mountains and saw something I had never seen before. I saw lights in the sky.

Now before you go and get the tinfoil hats, it wasn't a UFO. But it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. At first I thought it was the lights of a great fire. But the lights danced around and around. They changed color from a bright red to an orange. There were streaks of green and blue being formed like a rainbow. And as I watched the heavenly display of the northern lights on a lonely mountaintop in Arkansas, I realized that God was telling me, "Here's your sign."

Millions of people saw the northern lights that night. But I may have been the only one God was dramatically talking to.

I wish I could go back in time and tell myself a piece of advice. Don't wait around, wasting your life for a sign. Because spending each moment of your life with God is a decision you'll never regret.

The blessings of our Lord Jesus Christ be upon you.

PASTOR TROY CONRAD IS MINISTER OF THE FARMINGTON UNITED METHODIST CHURCH. EMAIL: [email protected]. THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHOR.

Religion on 03/15/2017