A New Direction
Published on 10 Sep 2006 · Filed in Personal · 648 words (estimated 4 minutes to read)Longtime readers of this site (if any such people actually exist!) will recall that quite some time ago I was feeling called by the Lord to serve in youth ministry (described here). Even before these events in January, I’d felt led into some form of ministry with young people. Then, about a month or so ago, some stuff happened that caused me to leave my current church and start seeking a new church. Since that time, my wife and I have been attending a couple of different churches and seeking the Lord’s direction in prayer.
This past Wednesday night, as we were finishing up church, my wife went to talk with a lady that we knew who had also been attending the old church (we’ll just call her “Linda,” which is not her real name). Linda had previously attended the same church with us, but had left before the series of events occurred that led us to leave.
That night, Linda had shaken my hand quickly as she hurriedly exited the building, and my wife just barely managed to catch her in the parking lot. It turns out that she had been wrestling with a message that the Lord had laid upon her heart to give us. She had been “arguing” with the Lord, not wanting to speak the message He’d given her, until finally she couldn’t stand it any longer.
<aside>Belive me, I know how she feels. I’ve had the Lord lay things on my heart before and I’ve just plain argued with the Lord about it until I finally surrendered to His will. You’d think that after a while I’d learn that the Lord knows best.</aside>
“I know that you guys have been struggling with the decision of where to go to church,” Linda told my wife, “and I didn’t want to say anything because I didn’t want to affect your decision.”
“No, it’s OK,” my wife said. “We’ve been seeking direction from the Lord.” Keep in mind we hadn’t said anything to Linda about what had happened, or when, or how we were feeling.
“Well,” Linda said, “I have been asking the Lord why he called me away from The Previous Church, and away from all my friends and family members to come here, and I just didn’t understand why and what was going on. Finally, this past week, the Lord revealed to me that he hadn’t called me away alone—he called you away with me.”
Linda continued. “And there’s something else, too. Don’t be scared or anything, and rest assured that the Lord will provide everything you need, but I feel like the Lord is also calling you to be youth ministers here at this church.”
Wow. How had she known? Had someone said something to her?
“Don’t be scared, and don’t worry,” Linda assured my wife. “I know it’s strange to hear this, but I really do feel that the Lord has a work for you here with the youth.”
My wife smiled and said, “It’s OK, Linda—the Lord called us into youth ministry about a year ago. This is just a confirmation of what He wants for us.”
The conversation continued on for a few minutes, then Linda bid my wife farewell and left. Later that night my wife shared the conversation with me, and we talked and prayed about it. Was this the Lord speaking to us through Linda? Was this the answer to the prayers we’d lifted for His guidance and His direction?
I can’t see how it could be anything else. We hadn’t said anything to Linda or her family about our calling. How could she have known if it wasn’t the Lord? It all seems a bit too coincidental for me. For now, we are believing that it was the Lord, and preparing to get started with what He’s called us to do. Keep us in your prayers.