My previous post, “Heirs According to Promise (Part 1),” brought significant feedback to my inbox. I was not attempting to make the post open ended and leave people questioning if we (Mitri and our family) would be moving away from the town in which we were born and raised but it was purposed to cause introspective thought about how our comfort level affects our calling.

In most westernized culture retirement is the reward for hard work. We work 40, 50, 60 years to reach retirement which puts the choice of “what to do” in our own hands. We have seen those who are passive, decide to do nothing, stay home, pull the blinds shut and catch up on 40 years of missed TV episodes just because they have earned the honor of retirement. Then there are others who are active in another career, maybe going back to college, philanthropic or altruistic, focusing on using their life experience to benefit the younger and less fortunate. We will laugh at this analogy and say “I will be the active retiree,” but allow me this one question, are you already a passive retiree?

The following are questions that I asked myself about a year ago due to the challenge of one of my very close friends and mentor.

• Have you resigned yourself to your current job being the top of your career?

• Is your current ministry your calling or your comfort?

• Have you lost your youthful vision due to the price, time and/or commitment to complete the task?

Are there conditions in your life that you just live with because they are easier than pressing on to your destiny and calling?

If your heart is fluttering, these questions cause your feathers to fluff, or you just know that the answer to one of these questions is “yes” then you may be the retiree with the blinds closed catching up on TV.

When Abram left his father’s land he was moving out of comfort into his vision and calling. He was blessed by God as he made his move out of comfort in the same way God wants to bless us when we step into the vision and calling on our lives. This does not always come in the form of a physical change of address but a decided change of heart that brings us to a place where we must search for answers we do not have.

If you are an executive in a successful business and have a calling as a missionary, take steps into your calling. Begin training your replacement.

If you are a mechanic with a calling from an early age to become a pastor, start taking college classes.

If you are a teacher looking to be a stay at home mom, begin budgeting in that direction.

If you have a failed career path return to the calling and vision you had at a young age.

The promise given to Abram was due to his faithfulness in moving out of comfort where he had most of the answers and into his calling where he had few answers which resulted in a blessed and prolific life.

A ship must set sail in order to steer and navigate, movement is key in navigation.

Where is your calling? Where is your vision that connects you to your calling? How is your current comfort affecting you?