So, here I am back with ASSIST, though never really having left entirely -- you could say I backed off some of my work here -- and we come to the lessons learned.
As Pastor Joel put it, there are some warnings to be heeded here.
They are:
- Not every heart stirring is a call or an invitation from God;
- Don't give up if Holy Discontent takes a while to build up within you;
- When you discover your Holy Discontent from God, FEED IT!
- Don't let yourself get so beaten up that you lose your hope.
I would add a fifth: Don't get discouraged if you make a move that you believed was a 'Call from God' and it doesn't work out. God believes in failures and is willing to work with them! The Bible is full of examples of such people, including Rahab the Prostitute and Jacob the Cheater!
As Kevin Turner, President of SWI, has shown me recently in letting me return to ANS, there is yet more grace at the Mercy Seat of God. So, Kevin, thank you for being used as an instrument of God in my life. And, thank you Dan Wooding, for being willing to continue letting me use the skills I do have.
Yet, for some of you reading this, there is a Holy Discontent brewing in your life and you may need to heed the prompting of the Holy Spirit to step out into the deeper waters.
So, when you feel the Heavy Hand of God pushing you in a direction you are not comfortable with, ask Him to show you the things that break His heart.
Just because I stepped out in faith and found out it was working for me, doesn't mean that I have missed the Will of God. I feel like Thomas Edison who said that he found out a thousand ways a light bulb doesn't light up. In this process, I have found out where I fit and can best serve the Lord.
I am thankful that God uses failures, and that I am one of His success stories! Happy New Year!
Michael Ireland is an international British freelance journalist. A former reporter with a London newspaper, Michael is the Chief Correspondent for ASSIST News Service of Lake Forest, California. Michael immigrated to the United States in 1982 and became a US citizen in September, 1995. He is married with two children. Michael has also been a frequent contributor to UCB Europe, a British Christian radio station.
© 2007 ASSIST News Service, used with permission
