{"id":8032,"date":"2013-01-16T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2013-01-16T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/2013\/01\/16\/retreat-to-his-presence\/"},"modified":"2013-01-16T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2013-01-16T00:00:00","slug":"retreat-to-his-presence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/content\/retreat-to-his-presence\/","title":{"rendered":"Retreat to His Presence"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yes, I have questioned my calling! When life gets ugly and people wake you from your warm bed to visit the ER, when all the prayers for healing seem to have slipped past God’s ears, when angry letters and frustrated congregants slam your inbox, it’s natural to sit back and wonder, Have I really been called to this<\/em>?<\/p>\n\n

These are the times when I pull back and remember that God loves me in the chaos of vocational ministry. I am called to be his daughter first and to fret about the details second. When all is silent and I hear God’s voice, the sense of his presence washes over me and I am reminded that there is nothing in this world I’d rather do.<\/p>\n\n

—Tracey Bianchi, coordinator of women’s ministry, Christ Church of Oak Brook, Illinois<\/p>\n\n

Copyright © 2013 by the author or Christianity Today\/Leadership Journal<\/em>.Click here<\/a> for reprint information on Leadership Journal<\/em>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yes, I have questioned my calling! When life gets ugly and people wake you from your warm bed to visit the ER, when all the prayers for healing seem to have slipped past God’s ears, when angry letters and frustrated congregants slam your inbox, it’s natural to sit back and wonder, Have I really been Read more…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"tax_ctp_authors":[3233],"tax_ctp_books":[],"tax_ctp_categories":[154],"tax_ctp_field_guide_subcategory":[],"tax_ctp_field_guides":[],"tax_ctp_format":[131],"tax_ctp_multimedia":[],"tax_ctp_point_editor":[],"tax_publications":[156],"tax_ctp_tags":[3546,4132,4679,4748,5042,5046,5293],"tax_ctp_topics":[],"class_list":["post-8032","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tax_ctp_authors-tracey-bianchi","tax_publications-leadership-journal","tax_ctp_tags-career","tax_ctp_tags-hearing-gods-voice","tax_ctp_tags-prayer","tax_ctp_tags-purpose","tax_ctp_tags-spiritual-direction","tax_ctp_tags-spiritual-formation","tax_ctp_tags-work"],"acf":{"scripture_references":null},"yoast_head":"\nRetreat to His Presence - CT 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