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From the Archives – To Make a Difference

Kierstyn Paulino

We all have a God-given design and purpose. Each of us is called to do His will. However, this is easier said than done. To follow God’s will means we have to give up our own.

Earlier this year I was working in the Georgia General Assembly. I thought it was what God had wanted me to do. However, as the day for me to start drew near, it was almost impossible for transportation to work out. My options were riding with my dad or taking the bus. Fifteen at the time, I opted for driving with dad – which meant I had to wake up at 5am to get into a freezing cold work truck and arrive in Atlanta 2 hours early. I enjoyed being with all the legislators and learning my way around the capitol as I ran errands. However, mom was down with morning-sickness at home. As a result, for about a month, I was working 19 hour days. I would wake up at 5, come home at 5 or 6, make dinner and get the kids to bed, then around 9pm I’d get online and work on Regenerate Our Culture and moderating The Rebelution Forums, go to sleep at midnight and repeat.

By mid or late January the 5 hour sleep schedule was beginning to catch up with me. One day I had to wake up at 4 in the morning to ride the bus and was literally falling asleep at my desk that afternoon. The entire month nothing seemed to be going my way. It looked like all the work I was doing was blowing up in my face and I couldn’t do anything right. Towards the end of the month, things got worse. I got stuck in Atlanta, we got an illegitimate ticket, and I was to the point I wasn’t sure if I would make it through the day.

Finally, towards the end of January, I realized I wasn’t going to be able to work at the Capitol the rest of the legislative session. Even so, leaving was hard. “This was something I thought I wanted so badly, but I’ve never wanted out of something this much in my life!” I told a friend of mine just before I left.

My “wake up call” hit me the day I got stuck in Atlanta. I was talking to a friend of mine from speech while I waited for Dad to get me, and he asked if I was enjoying working at the capitol. That innocent question stopped me in my tracks. I told him: “In all honesty, I have to say ‘no.’”

In comparison to everything else I had done, I could see that God wasn’t blessing my time at the Capitol. It struck me as odd, why could I run a pro-military event, but not work in the legislature?

In this instance, I was choosing my own will over God’s. In the end, I went back home, and the stress was gone. It was hard to say goodbye, but it was so much better to follow God’s plan over my will.

Doing what God wants isn’t easy, but it’s worth it. He calls us to mirror Him and not look like the world. He calls us to persevere through the hard times and guard our hearts against temptation. He tells us to trust Him completely and obey Him. The result of all these things is that He will be glorified and can use us in ways we would never have thought possible.

When our focus is on God and following His will nothing can stop us. If God be for us, who can be against us?

Scripture is full of stories of God using ordinary people to do the extraordinary, all because they gave themselves completely to Him. It was hard, but they persevered. The circumstances said “doubt” but they trusted. Temptations were calling their names, but they stayed focused. As Christians we are not called to be normal, we’re called to stand out. We can’t hide behind complacency and apathy, we have to seek God’s will and live it. There is no grander adventure than seeking out and following God’s will. Only then will we be able to make a difference.

If you want to study this deeper, some additional resources:

Jeremiah 1

Jeremiah 29:11

Romans 5:3-4

Psalms 46

Psalms 91

Psalms 107

Proverbs

The Bible in general.