God's Guidance in Our Lives

So I just wanted to share how God’s been guiding and directing us over the past year because even in the craziness, He’s proven Himself faithful. They say that you don’t grow without being challenged, and we have certainly been challenged! Also I know that a lot of you are seeking God’s will for your life and maybe our story will be an encouragement.

Late December 2013, Carla and I started to feel the call back to Mozambique. We had been praying about our future for a while, and had started to get used to the idea that we would probably go back to Mozambique. However, what we weren’t prepared for was the timing or the idea of starting an organization. I woke up in the middle of the night in early January knowing God was calling me to start an organization and name it Equip Mozambique. I was shaking at this point because that was the last thing I wanted to do. Over the next few days, I struggled over this, writing down every objection I had to the whole thing and systematically, God revealed the answers to my objections:

“I can’t do it.” You’re not doing it. I am.
“I don’t want to be alone in this.” I’m not calling you to be alone. I’m calling you to invite your friends and family in the journey.

“I want accountability and authority in my life.” You’re going under the authority of the Mozambican church. It only looks like you’re starting your own thing from the American side.

I also made two phone calls to people I trust on stepping out in faith and starting things, one to my father-in-law and one to my friend David. They were both encouraging in the idea and thought it may really be God at work, as was Carla when I spoke to her. A couple days later, I was at peace with the situation and told God that yes, I would follow Him in this. Almost instantly, He told me to leave in August and I was again afraid – I knew how much preparation needed to happen and thought it would be impossible in that time frame.

Having these three major words (Start an organization to disciple, train, and focus on the long-term, name it Equip Mozambique, and leave in August) and Carla’s biggest fear (what about the kids), I asked a number of the people in our life to gather together one Sunday to pray for us. No one in the meeting knew anything about what God had already told me and I was hoping that if it was God, these things would be confirmed through a 3rd party. What happened next blew me away: we sat and waited on God then asked what people felt like He was saying. The following are the words Carla wrote down in her journal on January 12, 2014:

• “Jesus wants us to bear fruit that will last – John 15:16” from John, speaking to the type of organization we were supposed to create and mentioning what will become our key verse.

• “Don’t be afraid. Say yes. Things will happen in God’s timing, and you’re going soon. The kids are old enough” from Debbie, speaking to my hesitation, Carla’s worry about the kids, and the rapidness of the timing.

• “This time we go as equippers, training others. We are not alone. Isaiah 61:1… This will be the start of something to train others. You are starting a chain that will bring life to others” from Mary, speaking to the type of organization and what we are to do, my fear of being alone, and acknowledging that it’s a “we” thing and she felt like she needed to be a part. Also, acknowledging that this will be the start of something.

• “This is not a time of defeat but of equipping and building for the future.” from Kathy, speaking to the name and the future focus instead of the needs of now.

• “You’ll be excited about it this time around” from Dan. Not speaking to any fears here but it certainly was encouraging and has come true!

• “John 15:16. You did not choose me, but I chose you that you will have fruit that will remain.” from Kathy – there’s that verse again, only the first part was included as well this time.

• “God has a huge assignment for you, but it won’t seem hard because He is with us.” from Susie. That’s definitely been the case.

• “On career concerns – God has taken care of you so far, and He will keep providing for you” – from Doug. Not something I had been asking God about but it definitely was a concern for me.

• “You and Carla are like the CPU in a computer. Everything else is ready but without you, nothing will happen” from Debbie, speaking to the role we will play in our next organization.

The meeting ended with Carla and I telling the group what we had felt like God was calling us to and how spot-on the words were. Everyone was encouraged and excited, to say the least! We were personally completely floored by God’s specific confirmations. That wasn’t all though – the next day, Carla and I both ran across the John 15:16 verse in the books we were reading; Carla in a Beth Moore study and me in a book of Brother Yun’s sermons. Though we were still scared, we were encouraged that God would be with us through the journey!

8 months later, it’s happening. We left in August, and have a functioning organization working full-time in equipping the Mozambican church. And we haven’t been alone – we’ve been incredibly supported by our friends and family in the entire adventure.

There is one other gem from that day that we hadn’t remembered until last week – a word from Bob:

• “God is showing you where you’re going, but not the path to get there. It may not be straightforward and may take longer than you expect – maybe more training. The timetable is not yours. You may not be staying here, but be open to direction changes.”

We hadn’t remembered it because it didn’t make any sense at the time, but it was a major encouragement to us last week when we had to cancel our tickets and stay in Malta longer. It floored me to realize that, even in January, God knew that it would take longer than we thought and we wouldn’t be staying in Rolla for it.

Long story short, we serve an awesome God. Truly, He guides his people (John 16:12-15) and tell them His plans (Amos 3:7)!