Ask a Missionary - Catch The Fire

passed by a number of opportunities that seemed so right. At the
time, I couldn’t give a definitive reason for my delaying. However,
when later invited into the office of a mission agency, the answer
became clear: they had an emergency need. Ten weeks later, my
wife and I and our four children were overseas again, filling a critical
need.
During yet another season of life, I struggled when I learned
that the man for whom I was working no longer wanted me. Though
I survived physically, I was an emotional wreck. I needed more than
scriptural assurance of God’s will for my life. I needed a fleece! Yes,
like Gideon, my emotions needed a sign. I said, “Lord, if you really
mean for me to be in ministry, without me doing anything to make
it happen, I need to see three things: The name for the ministry, the
thrust of the ministry, and the logo.” Twenty-eight days later, in my
regular morning reading of the Word, the Lord did just that!
Answer from Neal Pirolo.
A: Draw closer to God and trust him.
God honors obedience. He is in your life, ready to lead you according
to his program of guidance. Ask yourself if your motivation
in life is to glorify God. Often the struggles we have with situations
do not grow out of love for God but out of selfishness and pride.
We are easily influenced subjectively by all kinds of motives.
That’s why it is so helpful when facing significant decisions to take
time to meditate on Scripture, consult with wise Christian friends,
and continue to trust God.
Often we put our focus on the immediate issue rather than on
our relationship to the Lord. Finding God’s guidance is more a matter
of drawing close to him than just finding the “magic answer” to
individual questions.
Sometimes the Lord pushes us in one direction so that we’ll
have a different perspective than what we otherwise could have
GUIDANCE: Discovering God's Plan | 39