Directed Steps

Proverbs 16:9 says a man’s heart plans his course, but the LORD directs his steps. Acts 16 has a great example of this. Paul and his companions had plans to go to the province of Asia and Bithynia but God stopped them from fulfilling that plan. It must have been somewhat confusing to have two doors shut to them on their missionary journey but God didn't leave them in confusion very long. That night Paul received a vision directing them to Macedonia. As a result, the Gospel was taken to Europe and the rest is history. Sara and I find ourselves in a similar situation. One door has been closed but another has opened.

Even though our family has been really looking forward to our missions trip to Cyprus for a while now, over the past week Sara and I began to sense that God might be redirecting us. Because of this, we pressed into God for clarity and direction as well as sought out our leadership's council. It was not long before God confirmed that we were not to go to Cyprus as planned. These closed-door experiences are often confusing and painful. I clearly remember the confusion and anguish I went through back in 2007 when this happened to me the first time. Both then and now, God used the story of Abraham and Isaac to settle my heart. God directed Abraham to go and sacrifice his son Isaac but then proceeded to stop him from following those directions. God had never actually desired Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. God had simply led Abraham into a position from which He could bless them greatly and cause them to be a blessing to all the earth. The first command, as well as the change of plan, were both a part of God's original plan from the very beginning.

We know that God is directing us to use our time this summer to get more people involved in global missions and advancing His Kingdom around the world. We are passionate about God and people. This is why we are so passionate about missions, the lost and the Body of Christ as a whole. We plan on meeting with as many people as possible this summer to share with them both the need and the ways they can get involved in reaching the lost all around the globe.