One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. Looking this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.

- Exodus 2:11-12

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

God gives each of us holy impulses, a hard-wiring to make a specific splash in this hard world. Sometimes we chase those dreams and achieve them. Sometimes we forget about them. Sometimes those dreams get beat out of us by the heartache of this world.

Moses had this internal, inner drive to be a Deliverer. His upbringing combined with his disposition and personality to prepare him to rescue God’s people. But something went wrong.

Moses’ character couldn’t keep up with his giftedness.

Why did he kill the Egyptian? Maybe it was a rash response. Maybe it happened in a flash of rage. Maybe Moses’ grew impatient for God’s deliverance of his people.

Killing the Egyptian was a shortcut, but it was also a dead end. Word about Moses’ murder got out and Moses had to flee Egypt, with dreams of deliverance dashed to pieces.

Jesus also faced temptation in a desert to take a shortcut (see Luke 4). He was hard-wired to be our Deliverer but was also tempted by the devil. He could rule the world if only he’d replace the worship of the Lord with worship of the devil.

But Jesus chose the holier, harder way. Trusting the commands of his Father. Confronting evil. Embracing the Cross. And now Jesus is King and is bringing his kingdom of peace, love and justice into the world.

God calls you to pursue the holier, harder way as you live your calling. He will purify and sanctify you – giving your character time to catch up with your giftedness. Embrace God’s way and his timing for you in this season of life. And that’s not the same thing as abandoning your dreams or your call.

What is God cultivating in you? What pattern of God do you see at work in your life? Where do you need God to shape you so you can have the character to live out your calling?