Tide
"If you do not cut the moorings, God will have to break them by a storm and send you out. Launch all on God, go out on the great swelling tide of His purpose, and you will get your eyes open.”
-Oswald Chambers
We met a couple during our trip to Colorado. They’ve recently acquired a guest ranch that has been in existence for decades. The story about how this all happened is too beautiful and extensive for me to try and share in the 500 words of this post, but I might give that a try on another day.
Among all the inspiring things we talked about during the long afternoon we shared, the career path he took to this vocational stint was particularly interesting.
He had been:
A policeman
A secret service agent
A pastor of an inner city church
An overseer of a street ministry
On staff at a large church
He is an outdoorsman, committed family man, and a person who has a very intentional heart for the restoration of others, especially younger men. While his preparation and path to owning and running a guest ranch sounded haphazard and illogical, it felt incredibly familiar. I told him…
“I feel like everything I have ever done or experienced is being monetized in almost every work conversation I have every day.”
He said that perfectly summarized his experience.
Nothing has been wasted. Everything he has ever done or learned is finding its’ perfect complement in what he is doing every day. What seemed haphazard or illogical by the world’s standards, seems powerfully intentional and purposeful in Kingdom terms. His whole life up to this point has been preparation for his current assignment.
The major theme of the gospel is restoration. There is a way that everything is and a way that it was intended to be. And our faith is rooted in the One who came to set it all right. Put it all back together. Redeem everything.
To pursue the Father’s intentions for your life is to make agreement with that plan and preparation that has been at work your entire life. To acknowledge that your whole life has been prologue to the story he intends you to write on his behalf.
There is no other life worth living.
My new friend and I both sat in wonder and humility of the privilege of knowing we had located and were living into that intended glory. And we grieved deeply for those that don’t know the same.
Launching all on the swelling tide of God’s purpose for your life may look haphazard and illogical to others, but nothing will every be more right.
Ask to get your eyes opened.
Embrace what you see.
Find a life more extraordinary than you imagined possible.
Consider
Do you feel like your life has perfectly prepared you for something?
Do you feel like everything you have ever done is being monetized in this current season of your life?
Would you be willing to give up everything in order to get everything?
A Lifeplan retreat gave me the incontrovertible evidence and courage to pursue that life, where will you find it?