Written by Shawn Naylor
“O God, You have taught me from my youth;
And to this day I declare Your wondrous works.” (Psalms 71:17)
Close your eyes and imagine a scenario where you go from a state of stillness to suddenly hurtling towards the earth at 300 km an hour. Of course, I’m describing the process one must endure when jumping out of an airplane. Now, let’s say that out of these two states — stillness and freewill — you feel more comfortable hurtling towards the earth at 300 km. This is where we go from the boredom of standstill to the exhilaration of blessing.
Every day I am in awe of what God has done and continues to do in my life. “To this day” (Psalm 71:17) I can recall a moment where God moved and I went from bored to blessing in an incredible fashion. What I would like to do, if you’ll let me, is share this incredible moment in the ministry I have been called to. Then I’ll quickly move to what I have learned, all in the hope you can apply this to your life. Sound like a plan?
The Terms
Boredom is simply the state that you are in when life feels monotonous and disappointing; it seems that you are not on the trajectory you expected. Blessing, on the other hand, is when you are in the sweet spot of your calling; where everything has come together and it’s so good! In this state, time doesn’t slow down, but seems to speed up — this is the blessing I’m talking about.
The Story
I had recently left my own business and the position of youth and young adults pastor in order to pursue full time ministry with Youth for Christ. My wife and I packed up and moved to the province where we met, Quebec, La Belle Province. I wanted to engage with young people directly.
Within the first couple months, I found it difficult to get any solid footing anywhere. Then, at the suggestion of one of my ministry partners, I volunteered at a kids day camp — I did NOT want to go. So, I prayed about it and hoped the Lord would say “This is not your target demographic!” That is not what He said to me (*shake my head*).
So I prayed again for clarity, then for confirmation, which finally led to me finding myself at the camp. I would love to tell you that it was a wonderful experience, but it wasn’t. I kept asking myself, “Is this what God wants for me?” I was struggling; I was smack dab in the middle of boredom. How could God use this?
While at the camp, I met somebody named Hunter. He had funny accent, but I thought that everyone from the area did. He asked me what I did and I shared with him that I was a worker and speaker for Youth for Christ. He responded by saying, “Oh really? We should have you come down and speak at our youth convention,” to which I replied, “I would love to!”
Now, I thought that this opportunity to share the gospel would be in the surrounding area. To make a long story short, I found out that I would be flying down to Texas. I went from a standstill to 300 km an hour in only a short period of time. The time spent there went by so fast, but did it ever feel right!
I spoke at the youth convention and the lead pastor of the church was in the audience. After the first night, the pastor asked me to preach at both services on Sunday morning, with the cameras filming and being broadcasted live on TV. I was nervous, but it felt so right, and time sped by. Now God did some incredible things on that trip, but that’s a story for next time. I went from a standstill to 300 km an hour, from boredom to blessings!
The Lesson
What I have learned from this, and have had to apply CONTINUOUSLY, is that as soon as we move in the direction God has called us to, you might have to endure boredom (the plane ride to altitude), in order to position us for incredible breakthrough and blessings. Boredom, standstill, the struggle, the dark time, always precedes the blessings, the calling, your destiny.
Boredom is the place where we cry out to God asking, “Why am I here?” If we are obedient (the essential ingredient) during this placement, however long, and listen to his response, I have found that He says, “The blessing is on the way!”
Are you willing go where He calls you to?