{"id":216,"date":"2019-10-23T09:32:20","date_gmt":"2019-10-23T13:32:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tomme-stevenson.com\/website\/?p=216"},"modified":"2020-01-18T11:49:40","modified_gmt":"2020-01-18T16:49:40","slug":"gratification-deferred","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tomme-stevenson.com\/website\/gratification-deferred\/","title":{"rendered":"Gratification Deferred"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Romans\n11:29<\/strong> \u201cfor\nthe gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.\u201d God\u2019s will in your life is a\nsweeping tide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\n1912, medical missionary Dr. William Leslie went to live and minister to tribal\npeople in a remote corner of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. After 17\nyears he returned to the U.S. a discouraged man \u2013 believing he failed to make\nan impact for Christ. He died nine years after his return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But\nin 2010, a team led by Eric Ramsey with Tom Cox World Ministries made a\nshocking and sensational discovery. They found a network of reproducing\nchurches hidden like glittering diamonds in the dense jungle across the Kwilu\nRiver from Vanga, where Dr. Leslie was stationed. – Missionary\ndied thinking he was a failure; 84 years later thriving churches found hidden\nin the jungle<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2\nPeter 3:8<\/strong> \u201cBut,\nbeloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day with the Lord as a\nthousand years, and a thousand years as one day.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\nstart this thought with the realization that God\u2019s plan for me isn\u2019t about me.\nThat seems conflicted, or reversed, somehow. I know me. I have lived with me\nall my life. I have heard all the intimate details of my thoughts. I know the\nthings that make me happy and the things that bring me shame. With all of this\ndetailed knowledge, I can\u2019t figure out me. I love what Paul said about this, it\nis so revealing. The fact it comes from Paul is comforting in a dysfunctional\nway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Romans\n7:15-20<\/strong> \u201cI\ndo not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate\nI do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it\nis, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that\ngood itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the\ndesire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. I do not do the good I\nwant to do, but the evil I do not want to do\u2014this I keep on doing. Now if I do\nwhat I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in\nme that does it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If\nI can\u2019t figure out what I want, how can I possibly figure out what God wants of\nme for others? Dr. Leslie never understood (this side of heaven) God\u2019s plans\nfor the tribal people. He only had an idea of what he thought was God\u2019s plan\nfor himself. Because of that, he lived a life of disappointment and\ndiscouragement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\ntrap is bailing out because you do not see the results you expect. This is very\ncommon is most endeavors. For entrepreneurs, it\u2019s called \u201cThe Entrepreneurs\nTrap\u201d, not willing to make that final investment that would project you over\nthe top because of all the investments have already made. You lose everything\nbecause you are not willing to go the extra step. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chasing\nthe Lord\u2019s vision for your life is a lot trickier. The business world has a lot\nof scoreboards, life doesn\u2019t. Many times, our impact isn\u2019t going to be for\ndecades. There is a domino effect through eternity that we cannot see. God\u2019s\ngoal for your life might be to affect just one person. That person \u201cinfects\u201d a\nmultitude. Without you, they fail. You\u2019re the catalyst that starts the process.\nSo how do you proceed?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nrisk is both not doing something, because you don\u2019t see progress and doing\nsomething you have no calling for, because you think you are seeing results.\nIt\u2019s a two-edged sword. It is easy to rationalize both ways. In John 7:17<\/strong> it\nsays “If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching,\nwhether it is of God or whether I speak from Myself.\u201d Comforting to know that\nGod says we will know the difference between our own will and the will of God.\nDid Dr. Leslie?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\nare a couple of things I use as milestones, neither are a burning bush. They\nare more of the whispering variety. It all starts with prayer. Nothing will\nhappen without prayer. First, I get a \u201cnagging\u201d. That quiet voice that just\nkeeps saying something over and over. It usually lasts for days. It manifests\nitself in bible verses, sermons, conversations with others. It is a recurring\ntheme. This could be to do, or not do something. It works both ways with me.\nFinding our true calling is much like building a business from scratch. It is\nnot one big thing; it is a cacophony of small activities leading you to a\ngo-no-go decision each step of the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nsecond thing, either places obstacles that keep slowing me down and putting off\nmy expectations, or provides unexpected help in moving forward. Keep in mind Romans 11:29<\/strong> \u201cfor\nthe gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.\u201d God will use every means at\nHis disposal to clarify your skills, passion, resources, and direction. He will\nnot leave you hanging. He will not get bored, lose attention or be distracted.\nHe will keep on task even when you have grown weary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\nmentioned 2 Peter 3:8<\/strong> above. God\u2019s timing is not our timing. We need\nto take heart throughout this process. We need to balance the need to move\nforward with the patience to wait on the Lord. At times it seems like a razor’s\nedge from which to fall. Move too fast we make mistakes, move too slow and we\nmay miss an opportunity. God is in charge. He always was and always will be.\nLean on Him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2\nThessalonians 1:11<\/strong> \u201cTo\nthis end also we pray for you always, that our God will count you worthy of\nyour calling, and fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with\npower,\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Do you sometime think that you are wasting your time, that nothing really good has come from your effort?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[8,6],"tags":[12,11],"class_list":["post-216","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-motivation","category-purpose","tag-christian","tag-happiness"],"yoast_head":"\nGratification Deferred - Tomme Stevenson<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tomme-stevenson.com\/website\/gratification-deferred\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Gratification Deferred - Tomme Stevenson\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Do you sometime think that you are wasting your time, that nothing really good has come from your effort?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/tomme-stevenson.com\/website\/gratification-deferred\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Tomme Stevenson\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/tomme.stevenson\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-10-23T13:32:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-01-18T16:49:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"tommestevenson@gmail.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@TommeS\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"tommestevenson@gmail.com\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tomme-stevenson.com\\\/website\\\/gratification-deferred\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tomme-stevenson.com\\\/website\\\/gratification-deferred\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"tommestevenson@gmail.com\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tomme-stevenson.com\\\/website\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d1acd55338acf0053e486db30d415843\"},\"headline\":\"Gratification Deferred\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-10-23T13:32:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-01-18T16:49:40+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tomme-stevenson.com\\\/website\\\/gratification-deferred\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1028,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tomme-stevenson.com\\\/website\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3a12f81da0d71e3d8514df06b99bdf81\"},\"keywords\":[\"Christian\",\"Happiness\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Motivation\",\"Purpose\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tomme-stevenson.com\\\/website\\\/gratification-deferred\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tomme-stevenson.com\\\/website\\\/gratification-deferred\\\/\",\"name\":\"Gratification Deferred - Tomme Stevenson\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tomme-stevenson.com\\\/website\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2019-10-23T13:32:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-01-18T16:49:40+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tomme-stevenson.com\\\/website\\\/gratification-deferred\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/tomme-stevenson.com\\\/website\\\/gratification-deferred\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tomme-stevenson.com\\\/website\\\/gratification-deferred\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tomme-stevenson.com\\\/website\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Gratification Deferred\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tomme-stevenson.com\\\/website\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tomme-stevenson.com\\\/website\\\/\",\"name\":\"Tomme Stevenson\",\"description\":\"Looking to the Future\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tomme-stevenson.com\\\/website\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3a12f81da0d71e3d8514df06b99bdf81\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tomme-stevenson.com\\\/website\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":[\"Person\",\"Organization\"],\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tomme-stevenson.com\\\/website\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3a12f81da0d71e3d8514df06b99bdf81\",\"name\":\"Tomme Stevenson\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/tomme-stevenson.com\\\/website\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/10\\\/Head-shot-2-102119.jpg?fit=772%2C528&ssl=1\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/tomme-stevenson.com\\\/website\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/10\\\/Head-shot-2-102119.jpg?fit=772%2C528&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/tomme-stevenson.com\\\/website\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/10\\\/Head-shot-2-102119.jpg?fit=772%2C528&ssl=1\",\"width\":772,\"height\":528,\"caption\":\"Tomme Stevenson\"},\"logo\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/tomme-stevenson.com\\\/website\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/10\\\/Head-shot-2-102119.jpg?fit=772%2C528&ssl=1\"},\"description\":\"Over forty years of running Christian intent businesses in the technology sector. I have had the honor of working many years with High Technologies Ministries, Bill Glass Prison Ministries, Roswell Day of Hope, International Mission Connection and International Micro Enterprise Development.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/tomme-stevenson.com\\\/website\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/tomme.stevenson\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tomme-stevenson.com\\\/website\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d1acd55338acf0053e486db30d415843\",\"name\":\"tommestevenson@gmail.com\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1df08c7164557ec664d212e87b1a7ea2373e814630cb5963407375df8a9d9cbc?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1df08c7164557ec664d212e87b1a7ea2373e814630cb5963407375df8a9d9cbc?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1df08c7164557ec664d212e87b1a7ea2373e814630cb5963407375df8a9d9cbc?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"tommestevenson@gmail.com\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/TommeS\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tomme-stevenson.com\\\/website\\\/author\\\/tommestevensongmail-com\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Gratification Deferred - Tomme Stevenson","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/tomme-stevenson.com\/website\/gratification-deferred\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Gratification Deferred - Tomme Stevenson","og_description":"Do you sometime think that you are wasting your time, that nothing really good has come from your effort?","og_url":"https:\/\/tomme-stevenson.com\/website\/gratification-deferred\/","og_site_name":"Tomme Stevenson","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/tomme.stevenson","article_published_time":"2019-10-23T13:32:20+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-01-18T16:49:40+00:00","author":"tommestevenson@gmail.com","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@TommeS","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"tommestevenson@gmail.com","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/tomme-stevenson.com\/website\/gratification-deferred\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tomme-stevenson.com\/website\/gratification-deferred\/"},"author":{"name":"tommestevenson@gmail.com","@id":"https:\/\/tomme-stevenson.com\/website\/#\/schema\/person\/d1acd55338acf0053e486db30d415843"},"headline":"Gratification Deferred","datePublished":"2019-10-23T13:32:20+00:00","dateModified":"2020-01-18T16:49:40+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/tomme-stevenson.com\/website\/gratification-deferred\/"},"wordCount":1028,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/tomme-stevenson.com\/website\/#\/schema\/person\/3a12f81da0d71e3d8514df06b99bdf81"},"keywords":["Christian","Happiness"],"articleSection":["Motivation","Purpose"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/tomme-stevenson.com\/website\/gratification-deferred\/","url":"https:\/\/tomme-stevenson.com\/website\/gratification-deferred\/","name":"Gratification Deferred - Tomme Stevenson","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tomme-stevenson.com\/website\/#website"},"datePublished":"2019-10-23T13:32:20+00:00","dateModified":"2020-01-18T16:49:40+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/tomme-stevenson.com\/website\/gratification-deferred\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/tomme-stevenson.com\/website\/gratification-deferred\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/tomme-stevenson.com\/website\/gratification-deferred\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/tomme-stevenson.com\/website\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Gratification Deferred"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/tomme-stevenson.com\/website\/#website","url":"https:\/\/tomme-stevenson.com\/website\/","name":"Tomme Stevenson","description":"Looking to the Future","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/tomme-stevenson.com\/website\/#\/schema\/person\/3a12f81da0d71e3d8514df06b99bdf81"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/tomme-stevenson.com\/website\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https:\/\/tomme-stevenson.com\/website\/#\/schema\/person\/3a12f81da0d71e3d8514df06b99bdf81","name":"Tomme Stevenson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tomme-stevenson.com\/website\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Head-shot-2-102119.jpg?fit=772%2C528&ssl=1","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tomme-stevenson.com\/website\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Head-shot-2-102119.jpg?fit=772%2C528&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tomme-stevenson.com\/website\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Head-shot-2-102119.jpg?fit=772%2C528&ssl=1","width":772,"height":528,"caption":"Tomme Stevenson"},"logo":{"@id":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tomme-stevenson.com\/website\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Head-shot-2-102119.jpg?fit=772%2C528&ssl=1"},"description":"Over forty years of running Christian intent businesses in the technology sector. I have had the honor of working many years with High Technologies Ministries, Bill Glass Prison Ministries, Roswell Day of Hope, International Mission Connection and International Micro Enterprise Development.","sameAs":["https:\/\/tomme-stevenson.com\/website","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/tomme.stevenson"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/tomme-stevenson.com\/website\/#\/schema\/person\/d1acd55338acf0053e486db30d415843","name":"tommestevenson@gmail.com","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1df08c7164557ec664d212e87b1a7ea2373e814630cb5963407375df8a9d9cbc?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1df08c7164557ec664d212e87b1a7ea2373e814630cb5963407375df8a9d9cbc?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1df08c7164557ec664d212e87b1a7ea2373e814630cb5963407375df8a9d9cbc?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"tommestevenson@gmail.com"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/TommeS"],"url":"https:\/\/tomme-stevenson.com\/website\/author\/tommestevensongmail-com\/"}]}},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pbhbma-3u","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tomme-stevenson.com\/website\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tomme-stevenson.com\/website\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tomme-stevenson.com\/website\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tomme-stevenson.com\/website\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tomme-stevenson.com\/website\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=216"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/tomme-stevenson.com\/website\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":439,"href":"https:\/\/tomme-stevenson.com\/website\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216\/revisions\/439"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tomme-stevenson.com\/website\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=216"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tomme-stevenson.com\/website\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=216"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tomme-stevenson.com\/website\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=216"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}