Did you know the strongest part of the pipe is at the weld? When a pipe has been broken and properly repaired, the strongest part is where it was welded.

We can liken it to scar tissue after an injury. Where it was damaged, the flesh heals stronger than it was before.

What does that have to do with me being wrong?

At Fellowship Friday last week, members introduced themselves and shared what they were called to do and why it matters.

As you read ahead, I challenge you to reflect personally on this question:

Our discussion centered around constraints. I said that constraint will create tension that will either lead a person to innovate and bend the curve, or it will cause discouragement and a person will give up on what they were called to do and eventually move on to do something else.

Later, in my quiet time with the Lord, I realized I was missing the most important third option, which is continuation through obedience despite the circumstances.

Continuation is when all you have is faith, prayer, and lamenting, but you move forward even when you don't see immediate results because you've given it over to God. This third option builds your greatest characteristics, which become your strongest attribute when you are doing what you are called to do. Like the strength of the pipe where it is welded, you become stronger at your core when you are obedient and fully reliant on God.

We see this in Joseph's story. Through suffering, God prepared him to rescue a nation and his family. He was not bitter; he became a great innovator and showed compassion to those who meant to harm him.

David is another one that we see cry out to God, weeping so loud and long that he could weep no more. He found strength in the Lord, and after a crushing situation, he continued on and was successful and able to show goodness to others.

I am left thinking about the widow Jesus talks about in Luke 21. She gave everything she had to live on. This woman was not in the season of innovation, she was not choosing to quit. Rather, she was doing the third option I failed to mention at Fellowship Friday. The widow was pressing in and continuing on through obedience despite not seeing how things would turn out.

Doing what you are called to do is often times not easy. The greatest things are produced out of constraint. What you experience as a result of that constraint is often not what you anticipated, it's better than what your human mind could ever imagine.

Keep your eyes diligently focused on God and he will prepare you and carry you as you are doing what you are called to do.

Continue on, friends. You belong to the Creator of the Universe!

This week's new thing to go to the Christian Chamber directory from your phone, pull up a member, and text it to someone as a referral. You will see a very nice contact card and our ability to create Kingdom Commerce is significantly enhanced with our new system.

Please say hello to our newest members and join us for fellowship after-hours this Thursday.

Thank you for Renewing Your Membership