Guidance, calling and the will of God

Our eldest son following the conductor in his school band

It’s 2am in the morning and I can’t sleep so what better to do than update the blog.

The issues of guidance, calling and the will of God have been at the forefront of our minds as we start making plans t return to Thailand before the end of the year. These are bigs issues and Christians have very differing views.

How does a missionary end up working where they do and what ministry they are involved in. Is it just a matter of seeking/finding/receiving “God’s call”? What’s that anyway? It’s common to hear pastors and missionaries talk about being “called to full time ministry”. But what if you didn’t get a specific call to ministry or a place or people? Does that mean you are off the hook and you can do what you want? Some argue that every single believer is called to do ministry (A Better Way: Make Disciples Wherever Life Happens, p.15 Dale Losch).

And how do we determine God’s guidance? A feeling, verses of Scripture which give you a electric feeling down your spine, changes in circumstance, open and closed doors, the advice of friends, the direction from your Church or mission society? Do you need all of them to line up or is 4 out of 5 o.k?

And as a missionary whose authority are you under? Ultimately God’s (yes) but if your mission wants you to go one direction and your Church another and you another whose authority prevails? Is it then your “call” which decides?

Is the individual call given to you by God, more important than the direction given to you by your Church or mission agency?

What do you think?  

(While you think about that I'll go clear out my inbox and try to make my sleeplessness a bit more productive)