--- id: ff16_crisis_opens_unexplored_calling title: FLYINGFREE - Crisis Opens Unexplored Calling category: Biblical Life Counsel predicted_narrative_arc: tragedy-to-discovered-vocation sentiment: Hopeful emotions: - Pastoral - Courageous - Steady keypoints: - God’s plan may be revealed in personal tragedy through grace and surrender - Crisis mode can be the time to learn what you are best suited to do - God’s real expectation for you may be about to be discovered - First-time freedom to investigate areas never before explored - Free to move into what you always wanted but never felt was practical summary: > Dean teaches that tragedy, met with grace and faith-surrender, can reveal God’s plan and free a person to explore callings once dismissed as impractical. tags: - flying-free - chapter-16 - calling - crisis - vocation - surrender - god-plan - dean-rush - book-excerpt - section-ii sycophancy: 0 truth_score: 9 entropy: 2 sample: false consent: owner_approved agent: flyingfree created: '2010-01-01' updated: '2026-09-09T00:00:00Z' vault_stage: 07_CODEX headwaters: FLYINGFREE prefix: FLYINGFREE enrich_status: ok enrich_blockers: [] enrich_method: manual pipeline_filename: FLYINGFREE_16_crisis-opens-unexplored-calling.md source_kind: book_excerpt proposed_topic: FlyingFree lane: FlyingFree voice: desk active_voice: desk voices: - desk routing_source: carbon corpus_topic: FlyingFree content_status: active date: '2010-01-01' share_url: https://deanrush.net/downloads/flyingfreebook.md source_url: https://deanrush.net/downloads/flyingfreebook.md site_category: Flying Free book_title: Flying Free book_chapter: 16 book_chapter_title: Use Time as Your Friend – Determine Your Goal and Work Toward It source_file: flyingfree/flying-free-16-use-time-as-your-friend.md description: > Chapter 16 — crisis can reveal God’s plan and free exploration of callings once thought impractical. --- # Crisis Opens Unexplored Calling **Author:** Dean Rush **Book:** *Flying Free* · **Chapter 16:** Use Time as Your Friend – Determine Your Goal and Work Toward It **Full book:** [deanrush.net/downloads/flyingfreebook.md](https://deanrush.net/downloads/flyingfreebook.md) ## Context for the Reader After naming *dunamis*, Dean states the vocational claim of the chapter: crisis is not only damage control — it may be discovery of what you were really meant to do. His own 9/11 story will illustrate this; here the principle stands alone. This lesson holds the “plan revealed / free to explore” counsel only. > Voice note: Everything under **Dean's excerpt** is Dean's original prose (lightly cleaned only). Sections marked **Biblical foundations**, **Scholar sidebar**, **Takeaways**, and **First-time learner** are enrichment for Asker / first readers — not Dean speaking. --- ## Biblical foundations (preface) Dean ties tragedy to surrendered discovery of vocation. Scripture shows God redirecting paths, opening doors no one planned, and calling people through disruption — without treating every loss as a secret career tip. | Dean's claim | Scriptural undercarriage | | --- | --- | | God’s plan may be revealed in tragedy through grace and faith-surrender | We know that for those who love God all things work together for good (Romans 8:28); I know the plans I have for you (Jeremiah 29:11) | | Accept grace; surrender to His will | Present your bodies as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1–2); not my will, but yours (Luke 22:42) | | Find what you are really best suited to do | Each has his own gift from God (1 Corinthians 7:7); walk in the works prepared beforehand (Ephesians 2:10) | | Free to move into the long-wanted but “impractical” | The Lord directs a man’s steps (Proverbs 16:9); where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom (2 Corinthians 3:17) | --- ## Dean's excerpt ### Free to explore God’s plan for your life may be revealed during a time of personal tragedy when you accept His grace and through faith surrender to His will. If you are in a crisis mode, this may be the time to take advantage of finding out what you are really best suited to do in this life. God’s real expectation for you may be about to be discovered. You may find, as I did, that for the first time in life when a crisis occurs you may have an opportunity to investigate areas never before explored. You are truly free to move into something that you had always wanted to do but never felt was practical. > **Scholar sidebar — Discovery through surrender, not denial** > Romans 8:28 and Jeremiah 29:11 are often misused as quick comfort; Dean pairs them with *accept grace* and *surrender to His will* — not with pretending the tragedy is small. Ephesians 2:10 keeps vocation as prepared works, not freelanced fantasy. The “impractical” desire is tested later by seminary work and ministry decisions in this chapter. --- ## Takeaways 1. **Tragedy can reveal.** God’s plan may surface when grace is accepted and will is surrendered. 2. **Crisis mode as inventory.** Ask what you are really best suited to do. 3. **Expectation pending.** God’s real expectation may be “about to be discovered.” 4. **First-time freedom.** Crisis can unlock areas never explored under old constraints. 5. **Impractical → possible.** The long-wanted path may finally be movable. --- ## First-time learner ### What is Dean saying in one sentence? In tragedy, if you accept grace and surrender to God’s will, you may finally be free to discover and move toward the calling you always wanted but never felt was practical. ### Why is surrender required? Because discovery without surrender is only another self-directed career panic. ### Key verses to read with this lesson - **Romans 8:28** — God works for good for those who love Him. - **Romans 12:1–2** — Living sacrifice; renewed mind. - **Ephesians 2:10** — Prepared good works. - **Proverbs 16:9** — Lord establishes steps. - **Jeremiah 29:11** — Plans for welfare and hope. - **2 Corinthians 3:17** — Freedom in the Spirit. ### A simple practice Name one desire you always labeled “impractical.” Write why the old constraints blocked it — no decision yet, only honesty. ### How this feeds Ask Dean Seed material for: *Can crisis reveal calling? What does Dean mean by free to explore? How does surrender relate to vocation?*