Missions Textbook 20
God's Call Versus Guidance

We Never Saw It Coming: An Introduction to Christian Missions (textbook)

“I’m so afraid that I’m going to miss out on God’s will for my life.”

This is an interesting fear. It shows a misunderstanding of God. Ask yourself, does God want me to find His will for my life? Yes? In fact, God wants us to discover His will for our lives far more than we want to. Therefore, the only real requirement for finding God’s will is that we really need to want it, so we pray for God’s will in our lives. But what should we pray?

Assuming that we are no longer a small child, do we pray about God’s will for what we wear every day? How about where we sit in class? Or about where we buy gas? Why don’t we pray about God’s will in those things? Don’t we believe that praying is important? Or don’t we need God anymore?

Oh, so we do pray about things? Like asking God what job we should look for? Or whom we should marry? Or what we should do with the rest of our lives?

Why do we pray about some things and not about other things? The answer is simple. God has already given us His “call” in a number of things. According to 1 Tim. 2:4 and 1 Pet. 2:9, God “calls” all humans to become believers. God allows them to continue in their sin, but God keeps His offer of salvation open to them their entire lives. For those who do respond in repentance God “calls” all believers to grow in their spiritual lives in a number of areas. He wants us to grow in peace (1 Cor. 7:15), grace (Gal. 1:6), liberty (Gal. 5:13), hope (Eph. 4:4), glory (1 Thess. 2:12), holiness (I Thess. 4:7), light (1 Pet. 2:9), suffering (1 Pet. 2:20-21), service (1 Pet. 4:10-11), and as witnesses (1 Pet. 3:15-16). These calls include us as individuals (1 John 3:2) and as a body of believers (Eph. 4:11-16). We don’t need to ask God His will in these areas. We just need to work on them.

So, before we start stressing out about things we don’t know about, how do we work on the things we do know about? Well, God has already told us that also. According to Philippians 1:9-10, God’s will is that He wants us to grow in our abilities to make better and better decisions; that is: “to grow in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent.” As we grow physically and mentally, we no longer need help getting dressed or buying gas for the car. In the same way in the spiritual world, we should begin making better and better decisions in more important areas, so that we no longer need guidance in those areas.

We also realize that some things are beyond our authority or control. We don’t need to seek God’s will about when we should die. He’ll take care of that. Neither do we have anything to say about God’s will concerning our wish to marry someone who is getting married to someone else.

Whom should we marry? First, become the kind of person you would want to marry, then don’t settle for anyone that doesn’t meet your standards.

What should I do with my life? Which profession should I choose? God doesn’t give us any definite answers about this question. Instead He gives us the freedom to make our own choices, based on what WE want. Look at Ps. 37:4. “Delight yourself in the LORD; and He will give you the desires of YOUR heart.” God seriously enjoys giving us what we want, when we are delighting ourselves in Him. We need to spend more time figuring out what delighting ourselves in the Lord means personally. If we delight in the Lord, He will put His desires in our hearts and then He will fulfill those desires.

Think about it. I’m married to Christine. The more time I spend making her happy and bringing her joy, the more she wants to please me, i.e., give me what I desire, and vice versa. This is not a business deal. This is first and foremost a mutual desire to please each other.

But what if God is calling me into the ministry or to the mission field, like He called the prophets in the Old Testament? Slow down. God called those prophets into very specific ministries to call Israel back to obedience. Most of those prophets were murdered by their own people, and most of them would have preferred a different life. They didn’t “desire” their call. Since they “knew” that God was calling them, however, they obeyed.

How did they know? In some cases, God spoke to them directly. There was nothing ambiguous about their call. They didn’t need to “seek the Lord” for clarity. If the Holy Spirit is calling you to a general ministry, that’s not equivalent to the Old Testament prophets. If the Holy Spirit is calling you to a specific ministry, then you don’t need to ask God what His will is in the matter, since His conversation with you would be as clear as the conversations God had with the Old Testament prophets. Be careful believing or claiming that the Holy Spirit has called you to something that isn’t 100% crystal clear. Believers will often claim the “leading of the Holy Spirit” to do no more than justify their own desires. Psalm 37:4 says that God will “give you” the desires of your heart. The text doesn’t say that God has to tell you about it first.

When Paul went on his second missionary journey in Acts 16:6-10 the Holy Spirit told him and his team not to preach the word in Asia, and then Paul received a vision to go across the water to Macedonia. He communicated the vision to the rest of his team, and they discussed the message of the vision. Then the team, together (v10), made the decision to go to Macedonia. Please note that Paul didn’t make the decision on his own. The point? If you believe that the Holy Spirit is calling you to a specific ministry, like going to Macedonia, you need to get the advice and input from other mature believers who can help you evaluate that “calling.”

So what is God’s will for your life? What are your options? What would you just love to be able to do? Take a realistic look at your own spiritual gifts, material talents, and learned skills for such a move. Gather wise advice from mature friends (believers), and go for it! Paul and his team wanted to go to Asia, but God turned them toward Macedonia. Go in the direction of your own deepest desire and allow the Lord to change your direction as you move forward.

We Never Saw It Coming: An Introduction to Christian Missions (textbook)

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