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Direction Along the Way
Sitting around waiting to discover God's will can paralyze your ministry
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The will of God presents a challenge. While it's great to know, it can be difficult to discover. In his book, Forgotten God, pastor and author Francis Chan writes: "To be honest, I believe part of the desire to 'know God's will for my life' is birthed in fear and results in paralysis. We are scared to make mistakes, so we fret over figuring out God's will." These words come from a chapter titled "Forget About His Will for Your Life!" The paralysis that Chan refers to happens in our personal lives and in our ministries. Unfortunately, the result is the same in both settings—inactivity excused by spirituality. Often, this hesitation comes from a person selling himself short. Lack of confidence leads to lack of decision which leads to lack of activity. We end up just waiting for heaven to make every decision clear before doing anything. I've done it. You probably have, too. But there's a better way. A tale of two candidatesTwo experiences taught me important lessons about God's will. Both happened during interviews for an open position where I work. Two candidates took diametrically different approaches to discern their next steps. Both sought God's will. Along the way, I learned plenty that will help me lead my organization better. I think that you will, too. Let's make two potentially long stories short. After lengthy conversations with a pair of motivated and highly qualified candidates, the moment arrived to discuss a next step. Both expressed passion and enthusiasm. Both saw themselves thriving in the position. Both sincerely desired to honor God with their unique and abundant gifts. Both want to follow God's will. But they took opposing next steps. Candidate A wants to step forward—meet again and continue the discussions—with a commitment to praying continuously for God to provide direction along the way. Candidate B wants to wait until she hears from heaven that she should move forward. I'm fairly certain which candidate Francis Chan would prefer. I'm fully certain that I want to act more like A in my leadership and in my life overall. Assuming you do, too, let's look at how to apply the A approach. Those changes in your ministry? Do 'em! Just get started. If you believe God placed you in your role, then go ahead and keep believing that He put you there because 1) you can make good decisions and 2) you will do your job, which involves deciding the right thing to do and doing it. Not recklessly, of course. But also not letting decision paralysis set in. Be like David!Young David did not specifically hear from God that he should volunteer to fight Goliath. Instead, he saw what needed to be done and believed somebody had to do something. While not exactly sure how to go about the "something" part, David who he had faced ferocious challenges in the past. |        
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