Tag Archives: God’s Will

2.20.15 Does Amazon Sell Spiritual Microscopes?

How do you tell the difference between God shutting a door and the Enemy trying to derail your efforts? This spiritual conundrum strikes all believers from time to time. You ask the Lord to lead you in a new venture, and then the doors open, which leads you to believe He has blessed it. But as you move forward, the circumstances begin to unravel. You question who is causing the circumstances to deteriorate? Is God pulling the reins, or is Satan creating stumbling blocks? We’ve all been there.

Photo Courtesy @ Shutterstock.com/albund

Photo Courtesy @ Shutterstock.com/albund

Some of you know I have started a book project on Living Giving titled, Only One Life to Give. A couple of months ago, my writing coach suggested I start a pilot group to test some of my ideas. She recommended no more than three to five people meet with me once a month, which sounded reasonable. She also suggested I invite the right people, i.e. committed Christians, who had a written budget, were willing to meet once a month, and were willing to give me feedback.

I jumped on the idea, assuming God was in this because I pray over my writing ministry and book project daily. I stepped out in faith, extending an invitation to potential pilot group members through my blog. Within days of publishing, I heard from five people. Two of them bemoaned the fact that they weren’t eligible because they didn’t have a written budget. The other three were anxious to start and wanted to go on the Living Giving journey with me.

The four of us decided that Monday evenings worked best and set our launch date for January 26th. On the morning of our scheduled meeting, “Sue” emailed me wondering if she missed my web link and call in number. I informed her that the group email would go out shortly and that she had not missed anything. But when evening came, I was the only person on the line at the appointed time! I waited on the phone for twenty minutes, wondering if my email had malfunctioned, before finally hanging up. I felt certain I would have heard from “Sue” if she had not yet received the contact information. But I didn’t hear from her.

I stepped back and asked myself, “Is God leading this endeavor, or is Satan creating roadblocks?” I wanted to believe God was guiding me because of the enthusiastic responses I received. But it was difficult to discern.

I felt discouraged and confused. I wrote an email that evening to our group asking them for an explanation of what happened. Did they not get my email with the contact data? Did other circumstances come up that prevented them from meeting with me?

Each group member responded early the next morning. “Sue” explained that she got home Monday evening and sensed that she was forgetting something, but she couldn’t tag it. So she just went into her normal routine for a Monday night. When she got my email the next morning, she realized instantly what she had forgotten. She wrote a heartfelt apology and assured me that whatever rescheduled time was set, she would be there without fail. The other couple also responded. They were ready for our call forty five minutes in advance. But then their son, who has a history of seizures, had an episode before the call, and they spent the rest of the evening taking care of him. They attempted to contact me that evening by asking their other son to call me to let me know what was going on, but he didn’t know my number.

I decided that God was still in this pilot group venture. Life happens, everyone spaces out on occasion, and urgent matters arise that take priority. No harm, no foul. Let’s just start over. Since “Sue” was flexible, I emailed my other couple the morning of the 27th and asked if we could reschedule for February 2nd. I waited for a reply for over a week and never heard from them! I told my writing coach that starting this pilot group may not happen. It shouldn’t be this hard to launch a meeting once a month. More importantly, I wasn’t confident that God was in this effort.

In the meantime, I felt led to email my pilot group. I shared my decision to postpone this venture until we could discern God’s leadership in this endeavor. Within ten minutes of my email, I got a phone call from this dear couple, who figured out why they never got my email for the reschedule. They had assigned my email to a “missionaries” folder, so they reassigned my email address back to their “inbox.” Moreover, they said, “Please don’t give up.” I heard in their voice a strong desire to move forward with this, which encouraged me. However, “Sue” needed an opportunity to pray about whether God was really calling her to participate in this group. So I informed them that we’re on hold for now.

I know I can’t thwart God’s purposes. I also know that spiritual warfare is alive and well. I wish there was a spiritual microscope to help me know who is behind my circumstances! I am trying to discern God’s will in this adventure by looking at the big picture. I can say with integrity that I ask for God’s leadership and guidance daily in this writing ministry and book project. “Sue” had been praying for spiritual growth in the area of giving. When she read my blog and fit the criteria, she heard it as God’s answer to her prayer. I know the other couple have already started their Living Giving, and they desire to honor God with His resources and want to do more. We all desire to move forward with God’s blessing. As of this writing, I sense God is still in this, but He may have shut the door because now is not the right time.

Photo Courtesy @ Shutterstock.com/cristovao

Photo Courtesy @ Shutterstock.com/cristovao

We are going to start over, but this time in our prayer closet! I don’t want to presume upon His will. I still don’t know who was behind the interference to launch this group, but I am comforted by Proverbs 16:1 – “To man belong the plans of the heart, but from the Lord comes the reply of the tongue.” We look forward to hearing His response.

How do you discern whether God is closing a door for you or whether it is the Enemy who is undermining your work for the Lord? We could use your wisdom. Please share your insights by clicking the link below. 

Blessings,

Lee Ann

4.9.11 Go Until You Hear No

“How do I know where God wants me to serve?”  Prior to attending seminary, I made decisions by praying to God, seeking godly counsel from family and friends , looking for the open door , and then made my decision accordingly.  But those pre-seminary decisions were not framed in terms of “calling”.  When I attended seminary and was looking for my first place of service, I was introduced to this idea of “calling”.  A “calling” happens when God initiates a summons to serve Him by imparting His gospel of salvation in a certain location.  Thus, when considering a  “calling” to a church staff position, it is encumbent on the candidate and the congregation to listen to God’s voice to see where He is “calling” us to serve.  

I didn’t realize I had an issue with a “calling” until about four years ago.  I could see that being back in Austin to take care of aging parents was going to be necessary, especially as it related to my Dad. My  reading of  I Timothy 5:8 “If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” caused me to yearn for Austin so that I could fulfill this mandate.  Could I initiate moving to Austin and have God’s blessing, or did I need to wait to be “called”?  I felt paralyzed and trapped in making the decision – until I learned “Go until you hear no” introduced by Erwin McManus. 

Erwin McManus, a pastor who wrote “Chasing Daylight”, describes the principle of “Go until you hear no” through multiple biblical illustrations.  The illustration that impacted me the most is in Acts 16:6-10.  Paul and his cohorts are on mission to share the gospel.  They attempt to preach the gospel in the province of Asia, but while on the move they were kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching there.  But the team was not deterred.  They  attempt to enter Bithynia to preach the gospel, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to.  Paul goes to sleep that night and has a vision of a Macedonian man begging Paul to “Come over to Macedonia and help us”, so Paul woke up and concluded that God had called them to preach the gospel to them.  This passage freed me.  McManus makes the point that Paul was always on the go to serve God.  Paul wasn’t praying about it for weeks on end, talking to a variety of ministerial colleagues to get their advice, and then waiting for a clear sign that destination “x” was his next place of calling to preach the gospel.  The point was that Paul was always going, and he knew WHY he was going (to share the gospel), he just didn’t necessarily know WHERE!  

The first successful application of “Go until you hear no” was moving to Austin.  It was freeing to know that I could initiate serving God without a “calling” by positioning myself to serve my parents in their time of need.   If I was on the wrong track, the Holy Spirit, or the Spirit of Jesus would stop me.   I look back on this process and realize that God kept the doors closed until He was ready to release me in His perfect timing.  But the success was being proactive in looking for opportunities to move here. 

One of the results of moving to Austin was not having a teaching ministry.  Teaching is how God has gifted me in the body of Christ.  I teach.  I have a passion for it.  I study on how to become more effective as a teacher.  I listen to top Christian speakers as they communicate God’s word to learn how to be more engaging.  I LOVE to teach.  So you can imagine the intense void I felt when I arrived in Austin having to start all over, find a church home, and then plug into the life of the church with my spiritual gift of teaching.  This is when I began another application of “go until you hear no.”  Just as Paul was always on the go to share the gospel, I have been on the go to teach in my church home.  

My first opportunity came at a Women’s Retreat  within the first three months of joining.  I kept “going” by offering to lead a Wednesday PM bible study the following month.  Several of us tried to get this up and running, but the Spirit of God apparently had other plans for me.  I have kept “going” as a regular substitute teacher in a dear Couple with Kids class over the last 6 months.  There have been times I have felt placated and pacified, but now I have an open door to launch a Sunday School class for women who attend church alone starting 5/15.  This appears to be an answer to a longstanding prayer for a permanent teaching ministry, but time will tell if God brings women to the class or not!  I am confident that if God has something else in mind for me, His Spirit will tell me no to the current opportunity, which means I will just keep “going”. 

I continue to grow in applying the principle of “go until you hear no”.  I encourage you to serve God in whatever capacity you feel honors or pleases Him with your gifts.  If you desire to serve God, be active in the process.  Stay on the “go”.  Let God pull the reins.  If He thinks you are going in the wrong direction, His Spirit will stop you.  His purposes can’t be thwarted by us anyway, so I think He is just thrilled that we would show interest in serving Him without passively sitting on the sidelines waiting to be “called”.  GO find a place of service.  

Thanks for listening.  I’ve got to go. 

Blessings,

Lee Ann