Acts 16:9-10: Dig In, Eyes Up

During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. - Acts 16:9-10

Sections of the Bible like this can be frustrating. Wouldn't it be nice to have dreams that gave clear directions? Three times in five verses, Paul is given direct, clear guidance: avoid Asia, avoid Bythnia, go to Macedonia. My dreams tend to be more mundane, more confusing and certainly never mention the Mediterranean.

• I wish my calling was clear. Instead I am left wondering whether my nudges from the Holy Spirit are genuine or else the result of my own wishful, selfish thinking. The upside is, I have to think about it a lot. 
• I wish my calling was dramatic. Instead I am usually guided to reconcile with my wife, support someone in need or even do a U-turn to help push a car into a parking lot.
• I wish my calling were more "spiritual". Paul got guidance to "preach the gospel to them". My calling usually brings me into tough work situations or caring about what my neighbor is telling me of his life.

I have concluded that the reason that I haven't heard God's voice or dreamed God's dream is not because I am blind or insensitive, but because-through a thousand hints and nudges-he is calling me to stay, grow, wait and watch. There seems to be this pattern: flourish where you are planted, but be ready to move when God moves. Sometimes, we are not digging in, sometimes we don't have our eyes up in expectation. There is a balance.

Jesus' parable in Luke 12 shows the foolish manager who was running the master's estate while hte master is on other business. This manager expects nothing will ever change-that the master will never return-and abuses his position of trust and "the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of." (vs. 46) The manager was not expecting anything to change, which led him (or her) to be lax in the day-to-day responsibilities.

When talking to the Thessalonian church, Paul tells believers who are caught up in God's next big move to settle down and flourish. The believers eyes were up-watchful for Christ's return-leading them to not dig in with their day-to-day calling. So Paul had to say:

...make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody. - 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12

So my calling is clear: I'm called to dig in and keep my eyes up. My calling is dramatic: but it is in the part of the story that occurs between chapters or after the period but before the start of the next sentence. My calling is spiritual-but I am not always the one with a speaking role. Sometimes I'm earning the respect and living God's hope and provoking questions by the way I follow Jesus.