By Bryce Bison
I wish it were as easy as ordering food off of my favorite menu. "Yeah, I'll take the shredded chicken burrito, smothered, and add another plate of God's plan for my life." I like food. I also like knowing that my life is not a waste. I think for a lot of people, guys especially, it can be really hard to live life not knowing exactly what you are here for. I also think Americans have a self-imposed roadblock here (international readers please bear with me). To quote my brother-in-law Kyle, "We are paralyzed by our omni-potentiality." What he is saying is that we have been told ever since day one that we can do anything we want. "You can do anything you want." or "You can do anything if you put your mind to it." or "The sky is the limit." Last, but certainly not least "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me," Philippians 4:13. Since every option is available to us (in theory) we find it extremely difficult to pick one. Then there is the looming possibility that one particular way is the right way. We do not want to pick the wrong career path/wife/college/church/home/school for the kids/or anything. We just want to do what we are supposed to do, if that exists.
Here is my story of destiny and God's plan for my life. Be advised, this destiny is still a work in progress. I may have made, or am preparing to make mistakes. Glory to God, that He is so gracious to us. Let me start off by saying that I know God has a plan for my life. Psalm 32:8 says, "I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye." That seems pretty clear to me. The question is then, "How do I know which way God wants me to go?" (Besides following his eye.) I believe there are a couple of answers to this question. God can and will speak to you in a number of different ways. He can give you dreams, He can put thoughts into your mind, and He can give you a "gut" feeling. God will also talk to you through other people. They might have good advice, or they may have a prophetic word for you. At any rate, it is important to judge all thoughts, ideas, and advice against the written Word of God. This will keep you from jumping off the deep end in the wrong direction.
I have been part of the church all of my life. I met my wife at the young adult group, and we started dating. After a couple of years, we decided to marry. We both had jobs and lived in a one-bedroom condo. It was not long before we left our parents' church and did our own thing. We eventually ended up at a church pastored by our former youth pastor from our original church. We have gone on many short-term mission trips and have participated in different types of conferences. Through the years, I have had small group leadership training and lead various small groups. We also volunteered to help with the youth group at our church early in our marriage. Today, I volunteer with our current youth group in more of a leadership role. During this entire time I have been a commercial HVAC service mechanic. I am not really 100% sure why God called me into the trade, but it seems to have been a good decision so far. All of these decisions I have made based on what I believe God had planned for me. It really seems that in the different circumstances God spoke, or lead, in different ways. During a worship/prayer night in early 2006, there was an altar call for people who wanted increase in their ministry. I went forward to get prayer, my heart really wanting God to release me from HVAC service and into full time ministry. I said, "I would quit my job today if I heard God telling me to." While my pastor was praying for me during that time, he said that he agreed that I was called to full time ministry. He and I did not know to what degree, or when, but it was encouraging to hear him say that. About six months later, during a trip to Whales, there was another altar call. I do not remember quite what it was for, but Mrs. Bison and I went to the front yet again for prayer. Since it was a U.K. conference, the men that prayed for us were each pastors of their own church somewhere in England. As they prayed, one of them told me that I had a pastoral calling on my life, and then he said he wasn't sure if that meant anything to me because he usually doesn't prophecy over people the way they were that night. What is cool about that is that God will use willing people to do things for Him even if they are not "professionals" at that particular gifting. I took that word as confirmation of what was in my heart and what my pastor and I prayed about six months earlier. Since then, I have taken a more assertive leadership role with our youth group (with the blessing and support of my pastor) and consider myself a pastor in training. I still do not know how or when or to what degree that calling will manifest, but I am currently praying for and believing God for the day that I become a full fledged pastor.
OK, Sweet! Good story Bryce. I was so touched by it that I cried a single tear! Well, I like fairy tales as much as the next guy, (I secretly like them) but this story is not necessarily without opposition. Enter the wife. I love her dearly. You may remember that from such articles as "Romancing the Stone" and "Who Ordered the Side of Destiny?" I believe we have a good marriage, we communicate, disagree, come to an agreement, fight, make-up, and at least 51% percent of the time (that is most of the time) are on the same page. What is difficult in this situation however is that she does not yet quite believe that my destiny is to be a pastor. This can be a crippling blow, gentlemen. Fortunately, I am choosing to roll with God on this one. I mean if God fought Mrs. Bison in a cage match to the death, I think He would win. I am driven in a large part by what I think my calling is. When Mrs. Bison cannot decide if she agrees with that, it becomes really difficult. I need my wife's support. This stuff is hard enough without opposition from within. I will say that she doesn't think I am completely wrong; she is just slower to put all the eggs in that basket. The other main difficulty here is the mindset that I suck as a person. How can I be a pastor if I suck at being a non-pastor? That is not how I feel all the time, but it illustrates my point. I can get bummed out by the things I struggle with, from sin to not praying enough, or giving enough, or reading enough Bible, or sharing my faith enough. You get the picture. If I really believed that the Bible was true, my life would look radically different, right? Well, that is partially true. We are a work in progress. We are going through (as Christians) the process of sanctification. I know too, that it is important to believe what God says about me rather than what the enemy, or my own mind has to say. God does not say that I suck as a person; He says quite the opposite really.
So guys, be patient, God has a plan for your life. Destiny is a lot to swallow. I would recommend getting it as a main course not just as a side. |
I wish it were as easy as ordering food off of my favorite menu. "Yeah, I'll take the shredded chicken burrito, smothered, and add another plate of God's plan for my life..." 
So my editor comes up to me a week or two ago at church after an amazing sermon from our pastor on destiny and has an epiphany... 
"Bones Heal, Chicks Dig Scars, Pain is Temporary, Glory is Forever." Evil Knieval said that, though perhaps you have heard the paraphrase that fictitious Simpsons character Lance Murdoch tells Bart during the "Bart the Daredevil" episode: "Bones heal. Chicks dig scars. And the United States of America has the best doctor-to-daredevil ratio in the world!"
So i still might be a little-man, but I've got a man-sized scar! You see, I was born with Sagittal synostosis... 
I was on Man-Duty when it happened. We needed a bunk bed for the boys' room. Not just any bunk bed, mind you... 
These are chemical burns/scars in the making from the Summer of 2007...