Have you ever received a direction from the Lord, but it seemed as if all He gave you was a general direction to head toward? Or have you heard from the Lord, but it is only regarding one step right in front of you rather than seeing where the actual path is leading? Don’t you wish that when God speaks to you, He would provide the detailed blueprint of your assignment indicating how many steps there were to the destination and how long you would stay at each stop while on this journey to your destiny? I know that Michele and I have wished that countless times. Yet despite all of our whining and complaining to the Lord, He simply does not respond to our lack of faith.
I do know that God will often speak with specific details and directives illuminating every stop and the time frame it will take. But as Michele and I are growing and attempting to follow God at His every directive, it seems as if He only gives us general directions with no specifics. I truly believe this is because He wants us to seek Him at every intersection along the pathway. He wants to make sure we are listening closely to Him rather than figuring it out ourselves. Michele and I have given the Lord permission to override our desires and agendas to accomplish His Will and Purpose for our lives and ministry as we endeavor to answer HIS CALL.
I have shared with you in previous conversations that we pray the “Idiot-Proof” prayer. “Lord closes every door that is NOT your will for our life, and let there be only one door open to us. Let that one door be the one that will lead us to your perfect will for our lives, not your permissive will.” After all, I have learned that God holds the Key of David- the key that shuts doors that no man can open and opens doors that no man can shut. And with our mouths and our hearts, we have given God the right to put us where He wants and needs us within His Kingdom, because it is simply that- His Kingdom to come and His Will to be done- not mine!
Along this adventurous journey that we have been following for the past 10 years, we have discovered that there are times when we simply have to be in one place and then wait to discover why we were in that place.
I have shared with some ministry friends, I feel like Buddy the Elf in the movie ELF. The particular scene that I feel as if I am walking out is the part in the movie where Buddy has traveled through the candy cane forest and all the great distances to find his dad whose office is located inside the Empire State Building. As Buddy courses his way through the crowded streets and up the elevator in his Elf costume, he finally locates his father’s office and meets him for the first time. His father thinks that Buddy is a singing telegram (he did not know that Buddy was his son) and proceeds to ask him to sing his song. To which Buddy sang, “I’m here, I’m in your office and I’m singing, I’m singing. But you don’t know that you’re my dad and I love you, I love you, I love you!”
Michele and I have heard the voice of the Lord to come to Virginia Beach, but we don’t totally know all the why’s of our being here. Yet we sing to the Lord that, “We’re here now, and we don’t know why, but we Love you, we Love you, we Love you!” LOL!
Always remember: God never called us to understand, He only calls us to OBEY!
I am reminded in scripture when Samuel the great prophet received an instruction from the Lord to rise up and go to Jesse’s house where he would anoint the new King of Israel. Samuel did according to the Lord by simply getting up, making the journey and asking Jesse to see his sons. Jesse responded and brought out all his sons according to their birth, starting with the oldest. Yet each time, Samuel was fishing for the confirmation from God which he never received. Jesse had presented all of his sons, but Samuel never heard a “YES” from the Lord. Through this process of fishing for the will of God to be made known, Samuel was persistent to respond to Jesse with a question, “Do you have any more sons.”
It is ironic that the son that was to be anointed as king was the one who was discounted because of his youth. He was the son that had to do all the work because the system of the day stated that the oldest had the birthright to accept greatness. Consequently, when the parties and festivities and spiritual leaders came around, it was little David who was left out in the fields to tend to the sheep and stay out of the activities. Remember, it was David- the seemingly invisible and unnoticed son- whom God had chosen to anoint to be King.
What would have happened if Samuel had not fished for more information? What if he had never asked the question “Is there yet another son?” What if he simply methodically processed that the Lord said to go to Jesse’s house and anoint one of his sons to be king, and therefore decided to take his pick among the ones that he saw that day, never waiting for the confirmation from the Lord? History would have been rewritten because of his disobedience.
I have been in situations when God lays a couple of doors open before me, and I have heard Him say to me to pick the door I want and He would bless whichever one I chose. But that has only happened a couple of times throughout my 25 years of full-time ministry.
You see, the greater the destiny, the greater the need for accuracy and greater obedience.
God anoints those on the backside of the desert; those who have been rejected by the religious social clubs of the day. He chooses those who may not be in the birthright order, but will go outside of the customary procedure to find that one who has HIS heart and He knows will be obedient to answer HIS CALL.
Today, I believe that you have positioned yourself to say YES when God speaks a directive to you. I know that some reading this letter have been hidden in the house. You have been on the backside of the desert tending to the sheep while all the rest of the family was partying and celebrating and entertaining high-profile ministers. And may I tell you that in this season, God is NOT looking for those who know how to be social entertainers, but rather He is looking for those who have been willing to be in solitude with Him where He has been teaching you how to slay the lions and the bears within your individual lives.
God knows when to send the Samuel to your house, and He knows to ask the question, “Is there yet another?”
My word for you today is:
Be faithful where you are- regardless of whether you know why you are there
Remain faithful to what God has given you charge over.
As you operate in obedience, God will cause the “Suddenly” moment to intersect the pathway on which you are traveling
As a result, God will quickly transition you to that which He has called you to.
Don’t grow weary, don’t get mad and pout. Remember, the vision is for an appointed time. Though the vision tarries, it SHALL COME TO PASS.
If you feel like you are about to faint and throw in the towel….DON’T DO IT! Find someone who will speak faith and encouragement and will speak to the destiny God has placed within you. Find resources that will fuel the vision, not water down the fire within you. You were born with a specific purpose and assignment that no one else other than you can accomplish- and no one will as long as you do not forfeit your assignment and walk away from it.
Hold on, your Samuel is coming! Take some time to go fishing. Go fishing in pursuit of your destiny. Ask God to open doors and close doors. As you approach a door, check the pros and cons of each opportunity. If only one door is open to you, begin to walk through that door.
KEEP WALKING UNTIL YOU GET A “NO” IN YOUR SPIRIT. IF YOU NEVER HEAR A “NO” THEN KEEP WALKING.
Your assignment is needed in the Kingdom, and Michele and I want to speak to that destiny within you and call that forth in you so that God’s plans for your life and ministry will be established upon the earth as He has purposed it to be in the heavens.
We love you and speak blessings over your life today! Take a deep breath, keep pressing toward the mark before you, and go fishing, and watch your destiny develop into reality.
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