My driving time yesterday morning to a meeting of area ministers and church leaders took longer than it should have because I took two wrong turns.
Oh, I was in the correct general vicinity, all right. It’s just that the unfamiliar streets I was using had directional rules that I was not expecting and, once I made this turn or that turn, I was stuck going the wrong direction because of “No U-turn” rules and “No Right Turn” rules and the abundance of medians with no turn lanes and…. well, you get the idea.
I eventually arrived at my destination after going far afield to backtrack and start over.
It wasn’t a total loss. You see, I was blessed with a needed reminder of the need to do my homework rather than rely on my usually reliable intuition.
The principle lesson from this experience has a spiritual application, of course.
We always save ourselves headaches if we’ll do our homework before taking a path that is not thoroughly familiar to us.
That means studying the Word when we are being stirred toward a new effort in ministry, whether counseling a faith seeker or planning a ministry initiative.
That also means praying for Holy Spirit leading and seeking advice from those who have already taken the same road or who are at least familiar with the “neighborhood” of spiritual and cultural issues.
The Apostle Paul had a very high success rate in ministry initiatives, the Bible shows. He knew better than to lean on his own understanding, choosing instead to trust in the Lord with all of his heart. The result would be that God would direct his paths (Proverbs 3:5-6).
He knew that in the abundance of advisors would victory be made sure (Proverbs 24:6).
He knew that multiple spiritual enemies were opposed to him and it would be foolish to not seek multiple allies to advise him and pray for him. That’s why a verse in yesterday’s One-Year Bible is so important to understanding Paul’s success rate and to helping us become more successful for the Lord.
“I went in response to a revelation and, meeting privately with those esteemed as leaders, I set before them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. I wanted to be sure I was not running and had not been running my race in vain.” (Galatians 2:2)
Paul had received direct instruction from God regarding that he should teach Gentiles and regarding what he should teach to Gentiles. Because he was still a struggling sinner like other Christians, though, he knew that he needed the perspective of wise Christian leaders concerning his call and message. He wanted to make sure that it was from the Lord and not only from his zeal.
That’s why he went earlier to Jerusalem to share the testimony of his call and his message. He didn’t want to take a bunch of wrong turns and create a big mess because there would be many others following him.
The last thing anybody needs is for you and me to be leading a caravan of cars and then get them all lost and having to make crazy turns on scary streets in neighborhoods that we don’t know.
Don’t trust your own mind and experience. Seek advice from the Word and the Holy Spirit. Seek advice from mature believers. It’s so much better this way.
As always, I love you
Martin
