Are you hindering God?

I have started a bible study at church called "Jonah: Navigating a Life Interrupted" by Priscilla Shirer.  It's really great so far and I highly recommend it for others to study on their own or with a group.  This hit me today and it was so great I had to share....

*Oftentimes the greatest hindrance of a new move of God in your life

is the last move of God.*

Read that again, slower this time.

Ok... now let me back up in our lives and share a few things to have all this make sense. 

The first year Matt and I were married was our last year of undergrad.  We had some pretty big decisions to make that year about the upcoming year.  The biggest decision would be where Matt would go to vet school.  For a while, this caused quite a stir in our marriage because we wanted different things.  Then, we wised up and began praying for clear direction from God.  Well... God certainly gave us clear direction because that February we received one rejection letter and one acceptance letter.  It was very obvious that God was moving us (or rather, keeping us from moving) to attend Texas A&M Vet School.  The very next week a job interview was set up for me by a friend (unknowingly to me).  I went to the interview not thinking much of it, but grateful because since we had decided on staying I knew I'd need to find work.  Again, God clearly moved.  I began working at Central Baptist Church and all of our needs had been provided for (financial, insurance etc)... it was like everything was falling into place.

Fast forward a year and many of you know the trials that Central faced with the Children's Ministry through that year.  Well, I was approached about taking on the Director's job full-time.  I didn't want the job- at all.  However, given the past year and the way we had been seeing God move things around we felt that I had no other option, so I accepted.  This turned out to be one of the best decisions we had made!  I loved the job immediately-- although it was very trying and difficult at times.  I grew in areas I didn't realize God wanted me to grow in.  I made very close friends through work that I would have not have had the chance to otherwise.   Overall, God had placed a calling on my life that I did not even realize I had- I often joke that God pushed me into that job.  :) 

Fast forward again to these past few months.  Matt and I fully intended on starting a family in Texas, raising them in Texas and enjoying the comfortable life we had made.  We had a great support system, we had a house, Matt had a job etc.  We definitely were more blessed than I think we even realized.  Suddenly, everything changed.  God clearly shut doors we thought were open, He clearly planned me getting pregnant when I did, and He made it clear that staying where we were was no longer an option.  Talk about big changes all at once!!!

So... back to the above quote... I realized today why this move has been such a problem for me.  It's not that I don't want to follow God's will, but it's that His previous call on my life had been so great that I did not want to change that.  I was struck to realize that God calls us to places, jobs, a way of life etc for periods of time and sometimes we are not called to stay there.  Even though we are doing God's will in that place He might have something else, somewhere else for us to do or be.  That is a hard concept to grasp.  The idea of giving up God's previous call on your life for a new call... especially when the previous call is so comfortable.

I don't know why we moved to Kentucky, though I have some theories, and I don't think it's forever.  I feel that this will be a growth year for Matt and I- a chance to get out of our comfort zones, re-prioritize our lives and figure out God's new calling.  We've seen His calling clearly before and I know we'll see it this time too, but the other times were easy compared to this change.  The other times it didn't seem like we were really giving up much.  This time it feels as though we have given up a LOT!  However, I can't let our previous calls hinder our current call..... 

The question for you is:
** Are you being called to something or someplace new, but you are too comfortable in your current calling to make the change? Is your previous calling hindering the new calling God has for you?  If so, you won't be happy in your current calling because that is no longer what God wants for your life.  Making changes is NEVER easy, but I feel this will all be worth it when we reach the other side of the situation.... from past experiences I have seen that God never fails us and His plans are always so much better than what we have planned for ourselves.