And the cartooning. I always sketched the children in church. And as a seminary student, I learned people respond to these drawings. At first, I’d sneak into class while everyone was in chapel and draw something based on the previous day’s lecture, then leave and enter with everyone else. Then, I arranged to be conveniently caught in the act, and was asked to contribute a drawing to the student newspaper. It occurred to me that the local parish weekly might run a cartoon of mine alongside the devotional which I was contributing to the publication. So, for the remaining two years of my seminary life and pastorate, the weekly paper gave me almost half a page in every issue, as they printed my devotional and the cartoon. In time, various publications of our denomination requested my cartoons. These days, Baptist Press’ website carries thousands of my drawing which editors download and print. I’ve done books of cartoons, several of which have sold hundreds of thousands of copies.
OK, these may not be the best illustrations of our premise (that God has a backup plan for your ministry, something you love but had not realized He could use), since neither my love for history or cartooning has furnished me with enough income to support my family. But—smiley-face goes here—it’s all I could think of personally that fits.
–Think outside the box, as they say. What do you enjoy doing, and would love to do if money were no object?
God bless you. Be faithful where you are, and keep your eyes on the Lord.
In Saul’s case, a revival broke out among the Gentiles in Antioch. When Barnabas traveled up from Jerusalem to check it out, he quickly remember that Saul of Tarsus had been called as an evangelist to just such as these. And we read one of the great sentences in the history of this small planet:
“And he left for Tarsus to look for Saul” (Acts 11:25).
When he found him, he brought him to Antioch. And the Lord took it from there.
God is good. God knows what He is doing. Trust Him.
The original article appeared here.
