Seeking God's Direction

From the Desk of David Boyd, National BGMC Director

You’ve been there. You planned, you prepared, you worked, you perspired, you put together this great event, this great outreach, and then…it fell flat. Perhaps it was an outdoor event and it poured down rain. Perhaps it was a great event on the wrong date. Perhaps it was a grand effort to reconstruct a successful event done by a friend. You feel dejected—all this work, yet so little result. “God, what happened?” you ask.

Joshua chapter nine tells the story of Joshua and the Israelite community being deceived by the Gibeonites. It seemed logical enough. The Gibeonites appeared to be from a long distance away. They wanted a treaty with the Israelites. The Israelites granted the treaty only to find out they’d been deceived. The Gibeonites actually lived on chosen ground given to the Israelites by God. Scripture records where the fault occurred. Joshua 9:14 states they “did not inquire of the Lord.”

It is easy, in the midst of doing God’s work, to slip off the track of asking Him for direction. It’s an easy slip up, usually done for the right reasons. But it is a fault of our personalities to often run out way ahead of God. The Israelites did this. They were deceived. They thought they were making the right decision, but they hadn’t taken the time to seek God.

Not all unsuccessful events are due to a failure to seek God; however, some are. Seek God daily for His direction in your ministry. Ask Him to guide you. Thank Him for His leading. Admit your dependence upon him. When you hear of great events that other leaders do for God, take these ideas to him to clarify what are and aren’t God’s directives for you and your ministry. Running ahead of God is far less successful than letting God run ahead of you.