Acts 18:1-11 NKJV

[1] After these things, Paul departed from Athens and went to Corinth. [2] And he found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla (because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome); and he came to them. [3] So, because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and worked; for by occupation, they were tentmakers. [4] And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath and persuaded both Jews and Greeks. [5] When Silas and Timothy had come from Macedonia, Paul was compelled by the Spirit and testified to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ. [6] But when they opposed him and blasphemed, he shook his garments and said to them, “Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” [7] And he departed from there and entered the house of a certain man named Justus, one who worshiped God, whose house was next door to the synagogue. [8] Then Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord with all his household. Many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed, and were baptized. [9] Now the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, “Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; [10] for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city.” [11] And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

I have caught myself many times wondering... Am I doing what God has called me to do? Am I where God wants me to be? I have plenty of questions about who I am, what I am gifted for, and where and to what capacity I am called to serve. I don't want to waste unnecessary time being where I am not supposed to be.

Most days are filled with mindless duties. I go from one place to the next working. I occasionally share my faith with a random stranger. Other than that, I do my job and go home. On those days, my biggest win equates to the time I spend reading the Bible. I don't compare myself with Paul in many ways, but I do wonder if he felt like he was spinning his wheels in Corinth the way I feel like I am most days in Panama City.

Paul spent a year and a half working as a tentmaker in the middle of his years of ministry. He was grinding away at his old trade while attempting to spread the gospel in his free time. I would suppose that he spent some of his time there frustrated; feeling like he wasn't fulfilling his purpose. He stayed anyway and continued doing what he knew how to do until the Spirit compelled him to do something different.

I believe that God uses the doldrums, the dead spaces in life, to teach us the value of contentment. He doesn't call us all to a life of constant adventure and action. Sometimes, He needs us to learn how to be still in the moment. The voice of the Holy Spirit will not drown out the noise of the world, so we need the still moments to hear God's voice apart from the noise. It is impossible to pay attention when we are faced with constant distractions. We can't respond obediently to a voice we can not hear.