Sunday we had a special speaker. She is an old friend of ours from our days at Vanguard University. She is on her way (in a couple of weeks) to Kurdistan (a section of Iraq) to start a Bible School to teach and train the Christians over there.
She gave us a lot of information about the political climate over there that I found encouraging. It, for all of us, was a call to pray like we never have before for that region of the world. Not only for the lost but for the Christians who are being persecuted. Sharon (our speaker) has always been a passionate person, and that certainly came through loud and clear.
But there were two important things that she said that I want to really underscore today. This will be a short post, but important.
First she talked about letting God lead instead of trying to lead Him. It sounds like a "no-brainer" but I have to ask how many of us have been guilty of trying to lead the Lord along towards OUR plan or OUR will or OUR vision? Too many of us, I am sure.
We get these ideas of what we want to do with our life (job, career, life partner, retirement, etc.) and we then pray that God will make it happen. What would happen if we all were to make those kinds of decisions based on what God is showing us and leading us to? What difference would that make in our lives and our ministries?
Sometimes we do things that are not God's will. Period. It doesn't mean they are BAD things or SINFUL things, but if they aren't God's best then we are missing out on being right in the center of God's will. We have great ideas and plans, but we need to find out if those ideas or plans are from the heart of God, or from our own heads.
When you are making big decisions about such things as career, college, or life partner you will be wise to pray seriously about it and NOT ACT until you hear from the Lord on the matter. You will also be wise to get some Godly counsel on it. (Oh, have Beverly and I learned this the hard way!)
The second thing that struck me was when she talked about the qualifications for doing what God tells us to do. The qualifications such as education (college and seminary) and accreditation and such is a construct of man. The Apostle Peter was a fisherman. Never went to college. Had no credentials (unless you consider a boat full of fish a credential) and yet he was one of the greatest Apostles ever.
Don't buy into the view that you must get training and education to do God's bidding. God may very well call you to get training before doing His bidding. If so, then do it! But if He doesn't tell you to get training, it may very well be that He wants you, upon hearing His call, to just go do what He said. Just do it!
Don't be intimidated by what you don't know or what you don't have. You have the Holy Spirit, and if He is telling you to do something, He will enable you to do it. One of my professors at Vanguard University used to say, "God's calling is also His enabling." True statement, folks!
So talk to me! What do you think about following God's lead as opposed to pulling God along in the way YOU want to go? What are your thoughts about "just do it?" I want to hear from you guys!
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I have the same problem as she does. I got some good advice quite a while back from a college counseler at the school Ruth and I went to. I was talking with him one day when I said "I am a driven person." His response was, "the problem with being a driven person is that what is driving us is behind us, and God's supposed to be in front of us. We should be LEAD not driven." Oh so true.
ReplyDeleteOne disagreement with your above. You said that "Sometimes we do things that aren't God's will. . . . It doesn't mean that they are SINFUL things . . . " Are you sure you don't want a 2nd shot at that? THE sin, the one that started it all was simply wanting to do ANYTHING other than God's will. He's either in charge or he's not. And if he's not that's sin. The root of all other sins is the desire toward self-direction.
On the last point - qualifications for ministry. Amen. Amen! and AMEN! She was so right on. The only qualification we need for ministry is a heart committed to God. He takes care of the rest. Now, he might take care of the rest by telling us to study heard, memorize his word, pray non-stop, etc. But these things aren't qualifications - they are methods he uses on the way to where he wants us to be.
So, end of my long comment . . . Ask, Listen, then Do (Ready, Aim, Fire?). I've got to believe we'd experience much more power if we'd listen and go without hesitation (me too!)
Thanks Nathan! Yes, to clarify! When I spoke of not being in God's will not being "bad or sinful things", I was refering to what we commonly identify as overt sin: lieing, stealing, adultery, etc. To sin is "to miss the mark." So yes, not living in or according to God's will would be "missing the mark" and would be sin. That's why I also talked about needing to make life decisions based on what God shows us to do...
ReplyDeletePJ
It is an important point (thanks Nathan) to remember that if we aren't in God's will we are in sin. Very true.
ReplyDeleteThe tricky part is (and I think that is what John was trying to say) is that things that we choose that are out of God's will aren't things that we normally would believe is sin.
For example, if God tells me to go get a degree to be a teacher and I decide to become a computer tech instead, then it is out of God's will, so it is a sinful choice. Doesn't mean that being a computer tech is a sin, but it is for ME because it isn't what God said to do.
That is why it is so important to hear God on our decisions. What seems like a "good" thing, may not be good at all. God gets to decide that! :)
Beverly
Well, I say thanx to all of you for your true words. Following God's direction or even waiting on His direction is sometimes difficult. Even though I prayed God's will for my house, I was deep down inside wanting a house so bad, and in every part of the process, in every step I took that got me closer to it, I prayed for God's will, but I believe I created some of my own disappointment by attempting to "prepare the way." I was checking out paint samples and measuring to see if my furniture would fit, and all the while hearing believers and non-believers saying, "you will get this, I feel it; you deserve this; God knows how much you want it." In little increments I was getting pumped up-ready to move and begin life as a homeowner. Wow, surprise, surprise (to quote Gomer Pyle) it was not in God's plan (or at least perhaps not at this time). I suppose I suckered myself into believing it would happen. WRONG!!! Well, I followed God in this one. It did make me sad, but in the long run I win because throughout all of it I still relied upon God to make it happen, and God did what was best for me, and that's always, always a good thing. So now I'm sitting here in my home, with boxes piled all around me, wondering if I should unpack them, or keep packing. I'm still waiting for God's direction, and if it means I stay where I am at, then so be it - Thy will be done!!!
ReplyDeleteWith that in mind, at work some of my co-workers are looking for higher paying positions. I understand, because the furloughs are taking a bite out of everyone's salary. I've been asked if I am going to look for a higher paying position and my answer is "not unless God directs me to do so." I don't feel compelled to leave. I like my job and I like the people I work with. I will stay where I am until God directs me to go.
I go on and on don't I? I'm done.
Margie you can go on and on anytime! I like it . . .
ReplyDelete