Question: I know that God has called me to the ministry, and I am so excited about His plans for my life. However, I haven’t got a clue what I am supposed to do about it. What should I do now? Where do I go from here?
Answer: It is an awesome and powerful thing to be called of the Lord. Although you may not know exactly where to begin to fulfill that call on your life, you can be assured that God does know. He knows what your future holds. After all, He planned it before you were even born! You can always count on God to be faithful to guide your steps. He wouldn’t have called you if He didn’t plan to use you. His timing is perfect!
Did you know that you are in full-time ministry right now? Contrary to what you might think, you don’t have to quit your day-job to be in full-time ministry. Paul made tents at one point and he was definitely in full-time ministry with Jesus! Hey, even Jesus himself worked as a carpenter. And He ministered to others from the time He was a kid. Remember how astounded the religious men were at Jesus’ ability to minister revelation knowledge about the scriptures when He was young? He was in the ministry then and He continues through His days as a carpenter. If God has called you and you’ve received that call by faith, then guess what? You are in full-time ministry no matter what you do to pay the bills! Know in your heart that you are being faithful to what He’s called you to do right now.
You know, God doesn’t always give us a fully detailed color picture of what our lives will entail. In fact, sometimes He just shows us one little step. He says, “Go ye” even when you don’t know where ye is! I believe God does that so we will use our faith and trust in Him. When the time is right for the step to be taken, you won’t have to question it – He will swing open the door for you and the first step on the path will be clear as crystal. All of the doors of opportunity in life have knobs. And you have the ability within yourself to reach out, pull and open those doors on your own. However, I believe that God’s doors of opportunity have no knobs. They’re like supermarket doors…they swing our automatically when you’re standing in the right place. No pulling. No straining. No stress. Just effortless, smooth favor.
How do you know if you’re standing in the right place? Obedience. By living your life day by day and being sensitive to God’s voice, you can be assured that you’re in the right place. So, don’t sweat it. God will lead you by His Spirit and make your path plain.
I want to encourage you to continue being faithful to Jesus, obeying His voice and standing in faith…that He which began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it until the day of the coming of our Lord, Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:6). Don’t be discouraged. Be like Jesus! Continue to be faithful with what the Lord has placed in your hands now. Don’t be anxious for the future. God is going to take care of that. Whatever God appoints, He anoints!
Enjoy where God has you right now. Keep the faith! If you do, you will see all the dreams and desires God has placed in your heart come to pass. Step by step, day by day, you will fulfill your destiny as an anointed minister of The Gospel of Jesus Christ!
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Jesse Duplantis, minister of the Gospel, motivational speaker, television personality, and best-selling author, has been in full-time ministry since 1976 and is the founder of Jesse Duplantis Ministries, located in the Greater New Orleans area of south Louisiana in the United States of America. With over four decades of sharing his unique blend of humor and faith around the world, generations of believers have been inspired by his messages and countless numbers have come to know Jesus Christ as Savior through his ministry.
Known for his unflinching, status-quo-breaking messages and humorous take on experiences in the life of the believer, Jesse continues to draw large audiences of believers through social media, television, and meetings held around the world. With speaking engagements booked years in advance, Jesse Duplantis continues to keep an intense traveling schedule, flying throughout the United States and the world preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. With no booking agents pursuing meetings for him and no set fees imposed upon churches for speaking engagements, Jesse chooses his outreach meetings based on the same two criteria he always has: invitations that come in and prayer over each one. This uncommon way of scheduling in today’s world means Jesse’s many followers may find him speaking in some of the largest churches and venues in America and the world, as well as a great many small and growing congregations, too. No church is too big or small for the Holy Spirit, as he says.
Side by side with his wife Cathy Duplantis, the co-founder and chief of staff of Jesse Duplantis Ministries and the senior pastor of Covenant Church in Destrehan, Louisiana, Jesse continues to fulfill his life’s calling by daily taking up the Great Commission of Jesus Christ: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). Through social media, television broadcasts, books, and other ministry products, as well as through many evangelistic meetings, the JDM website, the JDM app, and Voice of the Covenant magazine, Jesse Duplantis continues to see growth in his ministry and expand each year while maintaining his roots. Jesus is the center of his life. The salvation of lost people and the growth of believers is the purpose of his ministry. And for both he and his wife, every day is another day to “Reach People and Change Lives, One Soul at a Time.”