I regularly see prospective students who are visiting our campus and who are diligently seeking God’s will for their lives. Frankly, it is exciting to see how God has brought them to this point and I really consider our time together, many times with parents, friends, or spouses, a divine appointment. Sometimes the student is like a the little cars my kids played with when they were very young. You remember them, don’t you? You placed all four wheels on the floor and then had to drag the car backwards to “wind up” the springlike motor and then let go to see them take off in a quick blast of speed. Some students come in wound up and can’t wait for the semester to start; God has clearly showed them what they need to do. It’s exciting to see that happen.
There are other students who come in sincerely looking for God’s will, but just need to talk things through. They feel like Abraham, God has told them to just “go and I’ll let you know when you get there...” They have made those first steps and are seeking confirmation from the Lord in their life’s direction. At times you can almost see the wheels turning as God opens the hearts and minds to new perspectives. I have compiled some of the questions I ask when God allows these divine appointments and I trust that they will be helpful to pass along to anyone you might think is dealing with a call to worship ministry.
1. How has God been leading you to this point? Sometimes we just need to sit down and review all that God has been doing. It is so easy to get wrapped up in doing, we forget how we got there. Trace God’s leadership from when you first surrendered to His Lordship until now.
2. Where do you see yourself in five years? Perhaps this question has only been a vague idea that you would be doing something somewhere, but if you had your best dreams come true, what would it be?
3. Do you know what it takes to do those things? The person that tells me she has always dreamed of helping the sick and needy overseas as a doctor knows that just loving people and having a willingness to go overseas is not enough; somewhere, sometime they are going to have to have the professional training to be able to be effective. Training is essential and you should desire the type of training that builds for a lifetime of ministry, not just what to do next week. Showing someone what to do “next week” is like giving them a fish; effective training means that you teach them how to fish for themselves. Yes it takes longer, but the results and rewards are for the rest of one’s life.
4. What is in your hand? Just as God used what was in Moses’ hand, God can use what is in yours. What are those things that really gives you joy, that doing them actually energizes you and you don’t dread doing? Some people mistakenly think that God’s will is some kind of punishment and we have to do, even though we really dread having to do it. I grew to understand God’s call to teach as I began teaching and realizing the joy I had in doing it. Which leads me to the next question...
5. What are you already doing in ministry? Some people have been active doing several things and never really stopped to think that God might be using this as a base or beginning for ministry or other related ministry.
6. Are you obedient in what He has already asked you to do? If we are resisting being obedient in other areas of our life, why would we expect God to keep showing us new directions, when we are not doing what He has already told us to do?
7. Are you willing to do whatever it takes to do God’s will? Naaman had to be willing to go the Jordan river and dip himself seven times, something that seemingly had nothing to do with his illness [2 Kings 5]. Sometimes part of our preparation will seem totally removed from what we think should be done. Naaman had to give his expectation to the Lord and trust the word of the prophet before God healed him.
These are just a few of the questions I have found to be very helpful for those seeking God’s will and what they should do related to further preparation. Preparation is necessary; and God deserves the best we can offer. I can cook. I use that term very loosely, for I live in the city of New Orleans where food is not just incredibly delicious, but area chefs have superstar status. I can cook, but what I can do is nothing compared to what you would find at any number of our favorites around town. [It’s nothing compared to what my wife can do!] I just don’t have the preparation and training. God has gifted you with various abilities, and just might be calling you to place those in His hands to become more effective through training. Our desire at the Seminary where I teach is to come alongside of what God is already doing in your life and help in sharpening the tools He has given. I would welcome any questions, and I certainly would join you in prayer that God would clarify His will and direction in your life.
This is Part 1 of the topic. See you soon!
Showing posts with label Abraham. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Abraham. Show all posts
Saturday, March 28, 2015
Thursday, October 11, 2012
What do you do when God is silent?
Recently my wife, Kathy, was sharing with a sermon she had heard Dr. John Ortberg share at a conference about the “Saturdays” in one’s life. On Friday, the some of the disciples watched Jesus die on the cross. On Sunday morning overwhelming joy replaced every other emotion they might have had. But Saturday was a long day. There was no hope of deliverance. They all were hiding, most likely sad, confused, broken hearted, angry, scared, and experiencing a host of other emotions. Before Jesus had raised the dead, now He was dead. Before God spoke through His Son, but now God was silent.
What do you do when God is silent?
This caused me to reflect on the “Saturdays” we have in the worship ministry. No I am not just talking about the 24 hour period preceding Sunday, but those times of silence when God does not answer our cries, when we know “all the right words,” but have those doubts if we might have missed something along the way. We can do all the planning possible, we can rehearse groups to near perfection, and yet, sometimes it seems like we are just going through the motions. We can be caught as the innocent victim of a tragedy. We can be in the middle of a life crisis, of ministry, or health, or family, and cry out to the Father, only to hear, – nothing. Silence.
The phrase, “silence is golden,” may fit a situation where there is simply too much noise and we escape to an empty room to allow our ears a reprieve, but in the crucible of pain and difficulty when we are crying out to God, silence is not golden.
What do you do when God is silent?
There are some common answers: “just believe,” “there’s always a purpose,” “God is in control.” and many more that we all have heard. These words are true, but I think there is more.
Silence can be from disobedience. After Jonathan disobeys Saul’s foolish oath, God is silent and does not speak, save to identify Jonathan as the guilty one. Peter admonishes husbands to guard their relationship with their wives “so that your prayers are not hindered.” When sin is present, God can be silent and confession and repentance must take place. However, every time God is silent is not a result of sin.
When Mary and Martha sent word to Jesus that their brother was sick, there is no record that Jesus sent back a message to assure the sisters that He would come later. There is no record of sin in the story. Jesus simply waits several days. Silence. The silence from such a close friend must have been overwhelming, and what was worse, Larazus dies during this time of silence. Mary and Martha must have thought, “God has surely abandoned us!” Yet, we know that was far from the case and that Jesus was about to do something beyond their wildest imaginations. But there were at least three days of silence for the sisters. Sometimes the silence is longer.
What do you do when God is silent?
In the life of Abraham, several years passed by between God’s promise to give him an heir in Genesis 15 and from the time Isaac is born in Genesis 21. Abraham is 86 years old when Ishmael is born and 100 when Isaac is born, yet he received the promised even before his having a child with Hagar. This is to say that at least 14 years of silence had gone by. What did Abraham do during these years? There were times he was confused, but continued to believe, even though he made some terrible mistakes.
What can we do while we are waiting for God to speak?
This is not to over simplify, or to minimize to pain of waiting during a time of silence from God. I would like for us to take to heart what Paul shared in Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Our first step is to choose to be obedient to the Word of God and choose by an act of will what we will make as our focus.
Here are some of those things that can be of help:
1. We can choose to believe that God is in control.
2. We can choose to believe that what God has planned is our good and His glory.
3. We can choose to believe that He loves us. [We can never doubt the love of God when we look at the cross.]
4. We can choose to believe that if we have sinned, “if we confess our sin He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” [1 John 1:9]
5. We can choose to believe that He wants to draw us into a closer relationship, in which we know Him in a deeper way. {We get to know Him as Healer, when we experience sickness, as Rock and Fortress, when going through difficulty, as Comforter as we experience sorrow.}
6. We can choose to believe that God can use our difficulties as an encouragement to others and a testimony that God is faithful even in the midst of what seems to be a “silence from God.”
7. We can choose to believe that God has entrusted us with this time because He knows as we trust in Him, we will be able to endure it.
8. We can choose to give thanks “in all things,” as 1 Thess. 5:18 says. Not “for all things,” but “in all things.”
9. We can choose to believe that God will reward those who trust Him. [“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Heb. 11:6]
10. We can choose to believe that “my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.” [Phil. 4:19]
What do you do when God is silent?
This caused me to reflect on the “Saturdays” we have in the worship ministry. No I am not just talking about the 24 hour period preceding Sunday, but those times of silence when God does not answer our cries, when we know “all the right words,” but have those doubts if we might have missed something along the way. We can do all the planning possible, we can rehearse groups to near perfection, and yet, sometimes it seems like we are just going through the motions. We can be caught as the innocent victim of a tragedy. We can be in the middle of a life crisis, of ministry, or health, or family, and cry out to the Father, only to hear, – nothing. Silence.
The phrase, “silence is golden,” may fit a situation where there is simply too much noise and we escape to an empty room to allow our ears a reprieve, but in the crucible of pain and difficulty when we are crying out to God, silence is not golden.
What do you do when God is silent?
There are some common answers: “just believe,” “there’s always a purpose,” “God is in control.” and many more that we all have heard. These words are true, but I think there is more.
Silence can be from disobedience. After Jonathan disobeys Saul’s foolish oath, God is silent and does not speak, save to identify Jonathan as the guilty one. Peter admonishes husbands to guard their relationship with their wives “so that your prayers are not hindered.” When sin is present, God can be silent and confession and repentance must take place. However, every time God is silent is not a result of sin.
When Mary and Martha sent word to Jesus that their brother was sick, there is no record that Jesus sent back a message to assure the sisters that He would come later. There is no record of sin in the story. Jesus simply waits several days. Silence. The silence from such a close friend must have been overwhelming, and what was worse, Larazus dies during this time of silence. Mary and Martha must have thought, “God has surely abandoned us!” Yet, we know that was far from the case and that Jesus was about to do something beyond their wildest imaginations. But there were at least three days of silence for the sisters. Sometimes the silence is longer.
What do you do when God is silent?
In the life of Abraham, several years passed by between God’s promise to give him an heir in Genesis 15 and from the time Isaac is born in Genesis 21. Abraham is 86 years old when Ishmael is born and 100 when Isaac is born, yet he received the promised even before his having a child with Hagar. This is to say that at least 14 years of silence had gone by. What did Abraham do during these years? There were times he was confused, but continued to believe, even though he made some terrible mistakes.
What can we do while we are waiting for God to speak?
This is not to over simplify, or to minimize to pain of waiting during a time of silence from God. I would like for us to take to heart what Paul shared in Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Our first step is to choose to be obedient to the Word of God and choose by an act of will what we will make as our focus.
Here are some of those things that can be of help:
1. We can choose to believe that God is in control.
2. We can choose to believe that what God has planned is our good and His glory.
3. We can choose to believe that He loves us. [We can never doubt the love of God when we look at the cross.]
4. We can choose to believe that if we have sinned, “if we confess our sin He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” [1 John 1:9]
5. We can choose to believe that He wants to draw us into a closer relationship, in which we know Him in a deeper way. {We get to know Him as Healer, when we experience sickness, as Rock and Fortress, when going through difficulty, as Comforter as we experience sorrow.}
6. We can choose to believe that God can use our difficulties as an encouragement to others and a testimony that God is faithful even in the midst of what seems to be a “silence from God.”
7. We can choose to believe that God has entrusted us with this time because He knows as we trust in Him, we will be able to endure it.
8. We can choose to give thanks “in all things,” as 1 Thess. 5:18 says. Not “for all things,” but “in all things.”
9. We can choose to believe that God will reward those who trust Him. [“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Heb. 11:6]
10. We can choose to believe that “my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.” [Phil. 4:19]
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