Page 59 - Evidence of Things Unseen

desires. He was working within me “both to will and to do, His good pleasure” (Philippians
2:13).
As I was making the rounds of my job in the weeks that followed, I found the Lord
ordering my steps to bring me into conversations with people about the topic of pursuing
our dreams. I was reminded of a saying by Henry David Thoreau that I had heard years
earlier while still in my pre-High School days. Thoreau said, “The mass of men lead lives of
quiet desperation.”
I believe I was only in the seventh or eighth grade when I heard this quotation, but I
understood the heart of it immediately. Many men have a dream in their heart. Perhaps one
man dreams of being an artist, another man a writer. Another man may dream of being a
great architect, or an explorer. Yet these same men look at the risks, and the chance of
failing to attain to their dream, so they choose another course that seems less risky, but
which is also lacking the fulfillment they could have known. A man may take a factory job,
or a bank position, or something similar, yet day by day there is inside of them a quiet
desperation caused by their dream lying dormant and unfulfilled.
It is true that many men’s dreams are selfish, but God also places dreams in the hearts
of His children. We see David being anointed by the prophet Samuel when he was still a
youth, and being told that he would be king one day. We see Joseph being given dreams of
ruling and reigning when he was also a youth. Both of these men were to know many long
years of trials, rejection, and suffering before they were to see the dreams realized. Yet after
a very long journey that began with a single step, they both saw their dreams come true.
Each time I had this conversation with a person at work the desire within me to
pursue the dream of my heart grew stronger. I realized that I did not want to spend my life
working on computers. I wanted to be a minister of God. Despite my feelings of inadequacy,
and in spite of my fears, I wanted to pursue this calling that God had set before me.
I began to sense that God would soon call me out from working at the Houston
Healthcare Complex, and this would be the beginning of a new phase in my life. In my
naivete I thought God would have my calling recognized by man, and that some wonderful
opportunity to minister among the body of Christ would soon open up to me. I did not
understand that I was only at the beginning of the journey, and that the goal lay many years
ahead of me.
God did call me out from my job, and the training for ministry began in earnest. At the
same time God was calling me to enter into the land of Yahweh Yireh - Yahweh my provider.
He called me out from wage earning that I should trust Him for all of our provision. He
confirmed this to me in ways that were remarkable.
As I was considering leaving my employer and stepping out in faith, I walked through
the kitchen in our home and I glanced over at the little flip calendar located near the sink.
The Scripture for the day was Exodus 14:14, and it said, “The LORD will fight for you while
you keep silent."
I was at first struck by the double occurrence of the number fourteen. I had been at
my employer for fourteen years, and I was reminded of Joseph interpreting Pharaoh’s
dreams. Joseph said that Pharaoh’s dreams were repeated to indicate that what was being
revealed was settled before God, and it would quickly come to pass. Later I was made aware
of the significance of the book this Scripture was found in. Exodus means “going out, or
forth,” and God was calling me to journey out from my present job and to begin a new
experience.
I shared with my wife what the Lord was speaking to me, but she was filled with