Chase the Setting Sun...

How do we know we are following God's call for our lives? How do we know we are not just following popular trends or culture?

I was thinking about this after a conversation with some friends the other night. A lot of times we get an exciting idea in our head and believe that it is God calling us into something. The trend these days seems to be to go off to Africa, or some third world country to serve the poor and starving. It seems that a LOT of people have been given that call. I've even run into some people that think because I don't specifically hear that call, that I am not following the Holy Spirit.

My question/concern is, do we need to do something drastic like move to Africa, quit our job, or sell all of our possessions to follow Christ? Is it possible that some of us are called to serve in our local communities, or our local church, or even serve as a local accountant or grocery bagger?

I'm not saying that God is not calling you into some type of drastic lifestyle change. All I'm saying is maybe we need to take some time to just sit and listen to the Holy Spirit, not talk, just listen. It might take a few minutes, it might take a year. Try to take the time to understand where God is calling us before jumping at something. Just because something is a trend doesn't mean that we are called to it.