People ask all the time: “How Do I Know What He Wants Me To Do?” It's a great question. We are all unique. Even as pastors, our assignment, giftings, strengths and weaknesses differ from one another.
The Psalmist said in Psalm 139:3-5, “…You chart the path ahead of me and tell me where to stop and rest. Every moment you know where I am. You know what I am going to say even before I say it, LORD. You both precede and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head…” I'm thankful that God’s hand of blessing is on us.
Jeremiah's assignment was clear: “…The word of the LORD came to me, saying, 5 ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations…” (Jeremiah 1:4-5). I have discovered that when it comes to ministry, it takes many years before you discover the purpose for which you were created. Then, all of a sudden, something shifts. You say, "This is why I was created!"
What clues may suggest that we've had a defining moment? First, something you love may be a clue to something God has assigned you to fix. I used to hear people say, "If you don't want to go to Africa, don't say it! God will call you to go there!" I used to believe that. I don't anymore. I believe that God delights in giving us the desires of our hearts. He's not mean. He won't punish us by sending us to a place we despise. He'll put a desire in our hearts to fix a problem, call us to that place, and anoint us to fix a problem we were created to fix.
Secondly, something you hate may be a clue to something God has assigned you to correct. For many years in the south, African Americans were forced by law to sit in the back of the bus. But one courageous woman hated that injustice enough to do something about it! After a hard days work in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks sat down on a crowded bus. When the bus filled, she refused to give her seat to a white man! Her stand that day led to much needed, dramatic changes in our country! You will not change a situation until it becomes intolerable. Whatever you tolerate, you will not change; but when something becomes intolerable, God can use you to bring change!
Finally, something you grieve over most may be a clue to something God has assigned you to heal. There is a lady in our church who was told a year ago that her husband had cancer. They gave him six months to live. Forty one days later, he was gone. They had three children in their twenties. This family was not prepared for it. He was in his fifties. Five weeks after his funeral, this grieving wife got a phone call that her youngest daughter (twenty-one) was killed in a car accident. After several months of pain and learning to deal with grief, this mom and wife started a "Grief Share" ministry; and today she has two support groups; and is starting a third. She is discovering that she was created by God to comfort grieving moms and wives.
Like Jeremiah, my prayer for you today is that you can say, "Lord, you've placed your hand of blessing on my head!"
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