Saturday, May 19, 2018
Hey Fletch … Question! What do you do, if you know God has called you but not sure what He is calling you to do? Moreover the person in question is careful not to embark on a mission he was not sent.
DRF—Greetings to you in Ghana. I so enjoy getting emails from Christian leaders outside of the United States. It is amazing to see the cultural differences and the ministry similarities.
The Apostle Paul had an experience like yours. He wanted to go to Bithynia:
When they came to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them to do this, so they passed through Mysia and went down to Troas. A vision appeared to Paul during the night: A Macedonian man was standing there urging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!” After Paul saw the vision, we attempted immediately to go over to Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to proclaim the good news to them. Acts 16:7-10
The important words are “they attempted to.” God gives us great deal of motivation in the Gospels and wisdom in Proverbs. I assume that open doors are meant to be walked through. When I see an open door for ministry, “I attempt to” enter it. That is an act of obedience—the door is open, I can do a ministry and so I begin to walk. If God does not want you to enter that ministry, very soon He will close the door. In the words of Luke, “the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them to do this.”
Notice what comes next. Paul learns that God wanted him to be in a small version of the City of Rome:
… and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of that district of Macedonia, a Roman colony … On the Sabbath day we went outside the city gate to the side of the river, where we thought there would be a place of prayer, and we sat down and began to speak to the women who had assembled there. A woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, a God-fearing woman, listened to us. The Lord opened her heart to respond to what Paul. Acts 16:12-14
If you are moving, God can steer you. Go through those doors and God will either direct you elsewhere or open ministry to you. There is an old saying, “You can’t steer a ship that is tied to the pier.” God’s best to you as you respond to new opportunities to serve!
