What Shall I Do for an Encore?

Sometimes the best thing God has for you is the next thing — a new season, a new circle, a new start.

Theme: What Shall I Do for an Encore?
Verse: "For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." — Ephesians 2:10

My younger daughter and her new husband are really into theater. In fact, it was through a local theater production that they met.

In the theater world, encore performances are often given when an inspired audience calls the performers back to the stage for more.

Our lives sometimes demand what Dave Ramsey refers to as an "encore career" — a second career after the first one has run its course. Athletes are particularly familiar with this dynamic. Most athletic careers end after high school or college, and even those who make it to "the show" often last only a few seasons.

With so many of us experiencing an encore career at some point, it pays to recognize that possibility along the way. We may be doing what we love and enjoying every minute of it. But focusing exclusively on that one thing can become a problem when the inevitable transition arrives.

You are so much more than the sport you play or the work you do. As a child of God, you were created with many talents. The challenge is that He leaves it up to us to discover them.

While our lives should be rooted in faith in His Son, Jesus Christ, it is healthy to explore activities that may exist outside our comfort zone. In fact, it's biblical.

In the book of Isaiah, the people of Israel were living in exile in Babylon. Many felt hopeless, defined by their past failures and longing for the glory days of the past. Through the prophet Isaiah, God challenged them to stop looking backward and start watching for what He was about to do next. He told them:

"Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!" (Isaiah 43:18–19)

God wasn't telling His people to ignore their history. Rather, He was reminding them that His plans were bigger than their memories — whether those memories were victories or defeats. He was preparing them for a new season and a new work.

The same is true for us. Sometimes we become so identified with a particular career, accomplishment, or season of life that we miss the new opportunities God is placing before us. Yet God often uses new experiences, new relationships, and new challenges to reveal gifts and purposes we never knew we had.

Who knows what that new thing might be? Maybe that means joining a music group (although perhaps not for my wife, whom I have never heard — and, according to her, never will hear — sing). Maybe it means going on hikes and observing nature up close and personal. Or perhaps it means joining a running group and discovering what all those adrenaline-filled friends of yours do for two and a half hours on a Saturday morning.

Whatever it is, God wants us to be well-rounded. Frankly, there is a purpose behind that. By placing ourselves in different environments, we encounter people who are not exactly like us. They help us grow, and we help them grow as well. From those experiences, you never know where God may lead.

And that brings us back to today's verse. God created each of us for good works that He prepared in advance for us to do. Some of those works may be accomplished through the career, sport, or activity we are involved in today. Others may be waiting in a future season that we cannot yet see.

You just might discover the encore performance He has been preparing for you all along.

Have a GREAT week!