Consult the Expert

An excerpt from Espresso for a Woman's Spirit Encouraging Stories of Hope and Humor By Pam Vredevelt (chapter 16)

I do nothing without consulting the Father.  --John 5:30, NLT

It was one of those periods of restless indecision.  We were confused, not knowing which direction was God's.  The church we were serving in at the time was suffering a very difficult transition because the senior pastor was in the process of leaving.  Although John had been on the church staff eight years and was fulfilled in his assignment, we were wondering if this would be a natural time for us to make a change too.  Often when a new senior pastor is hired, many from the former regime are let go.  We weren't sure what God had in mind for our future.
     I was pregnant.  With a baby on the way, John and I had talked about moving closer to our parents so that we could spend more time with them and give our children the privilege of growing up with their grandparents nearby.  It just so happened that at the same time all the upheaval was happening at our church, a church not far from both of our families was scouting for an assistant pastor.  A leader from that church contacted us, and we met with him to discuss the option.
     At the close of that meeting the answer seemed obvious.  On paper it was cut and dried:  The pros of leaving our current church far outweighed the cons.  The new position offered twice the salary for John, an open door for me to practice as a licensed thereapist on the church staff, and close proximity to both sets of parents.  The timing also seemed perfect.  Any casual observer would have thought we were nuts for not jumping at the opportunity.
     But something didn't seem right to us.
     Neither John nor I had peace about saying yes to the move.  I can't even give you a logical reason why--we just didn't feel the Lord's release to leave.  We sought the Lord for direction and asked for wisdom.  We told the Lord we would go wherever He wanted us to, but we needed Him to help us clearly hear His voice.
     A certain verse held special meaning for us during that time: "I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is good and leads you along the paths you should follow" (Isaiah 48:17, NLT). 
     About halfway through my pregnancy with Jessie, I developed a bad case of snoring that rudely invaded John's sleep.  Consequently, sometime between midnight and dawn John usually groped his way through the dark into the spare bedroom so he could get his fair share of shut-eye.  The poor guy was having his beauty sleep ripped off before this baby was even out of the womb.
     One morning, just as the sun was beginning to peek through the gray Oregon clouds, John came in from the guest room and crawled back into bed with me.  "I think I heard from the Lord," he whispered.
     "Really?" I replied, trying to focus my sleepy eyes on him.  "What did He say?"
     "He said we're supposed to stay where we are."
     In an instant I knew John was right.  My spirit bore witness with his, and we both sensed a calm assurance that the direction was from the Lord.
     I know--from a human standpoint it didn't make much sense.  The out-of-town offer seemed to offer far more benefits.  A series of unfornate events, plus departure of a much-loved pastor, had left our congregation wonded and grieving.  Attending services was a drain because everywhere we turned, we heard grumbling and complaining.  Some people leaned on us for comfort while others simply wanted to vent.  Our church had turned from a consolation to a cauldron boiling with gossip and idle chatter.  Tempers were hot.  Fuses were short.  People were burned.  It was a painful season to weather.  Leaving seemed a welcome escape to the path of blessing.  But God was asking us to stay and endure hardship, trusting He knew what was best.
     Soon after the Lord had given us direction, word came that a new pastor and his wife were coming to our church.  We didn't know Ted and Diane Roberts, but we knew the Lord had asked us to stay and serve with them, so we did.  That as fifteen years ago. 
     Hindsight offers clarity.  Today we see clearly why God asked us to stay.  It was His intention to restore the church and us, and He wanted us to have the joy of being a part of the healing process.  Don't get me wrong; the path of healing wasn't easy.  Wounded people need extra time, attention, and gentle care.  Under the circumstances, John and I felt like physicians in an emergency room where the revolving door never stopped ushering in the injured.  Being bombarded by so many needs--including our own--was taxing and called for every ounce of patience and perseverance that was in our reserves.
     During the next several years, we had the privilege of watching God mend broken hearts.  Fractures have been repaired.  The church has grown from eight hundred to 6,500 people.  Today those who were wounded are reaching out to others who have been assaulted by this world's hardships.  Lives, including ours, have been profoundly influenced and forever changed by the healing power of God.
     Yet I don't think I have ever been more grateful to God's leading in our lives than when I was speaking at a woman's conference a few years after the Lord had told us to "stay put."  The retreat was held in the town adjacent to the city where we had considered relocating.  During a break following a general session, I was standing in a circle, casually talking with a group of women.  Clusters of ladies with Styrofoam cups of hot coffee in hand were visiting throughout the foyer.  The groups stood fairly close together, so it wasn't difficult to hear what was being said around me.
     There I was minding my own business, when all of a sudden I heard a woman behind me say, "Isn't it a tragedy what has happened at such-and-such church?"  It was the church we had been invited to join!  That's when I started eavesdropping on purpose.  What I gleaned from the conversation just about stopped my heart.  Apparently the church was falling apart because of some serious mistakes made by a couple of prominent people in leadership.  The news deeply grieved me.
     The coffee break ended, and I had to call upon every ounce of caffeine in my body to stay focused on my next seminar.  I don't think the ladies in the foyer knew their conversation had reached my ears, but I believe the Lord allowed it.  When I returned to my hotel room at the end of the day, I knelt beside my bed in humble reverence and said, "Thank You! Thank You! Thank You, Lord!"
     It's sobering to think about what may have happened had we not sought the Lord in our decision-making process.  It would have been easy to do what naturally made sense.  After all, we could have escaped a lot of heat had we left at that time.
      But it would have been a huge mistake with far-reaching consequences.  We would have been relying on our own finite efforts to get us out of that mess.  We would have been trusting in our limited human reasoning and abilities instead of on the Spirit's guidance and timing.  In the process we would have cut ourselves off from an extensive and beautiful work of God's grace in our lives.
     We see now how consulting the Father spared us misery upon misery.  Had we relocated, we would have gone from one broken church congregation into another.  I'm not certain we would have survived those stresses very well.  I'm so grateful for God's mercy.
     It makes sense to weigh the pros and cons when making a decision.  But one thing I have learned through the years is that we must never stop there.  Even if an answer seems obvious to the human mind, it may not be the divine course of action.  We can save ourselves much weariness and grief if we stop and consult the Expert.  Though the direction He gives may involve rough waters, His counsel is always in our best interest.
     For only God sees the big picture.
     Only God knows the future, and the full implications of our decisions.
     Only God can detect when an apparent escape hatch is a death trap in disguise.
     Only God knows what will fulfill and restore the darkest depths of our soul.
     Only God knows when, where, and how the flames in this world will run their course.
     In His mercy, He is eager to lead us on.  We can be confident that the guidance He gives will always be for our highest good.  
     Even if it means enduring the heat a little while longer.

Power Perks: 
One day a group of scientists got together and decided that man had come a long way and no longer needed God.  So they picked one scientist to go and tell Him that they were done with Him.
     The scientist walked up to God and said, "God, we've decided that we no longer need You.  We're to the point that we can clone people and do many miraculous things, so why don't You just go on and get lost?"
     God listened very patiently and kindly to the man.  After the scientist was done talking, God said, "Very well.  How about this? Let's say we have a man-making contest."
      The scientist replied, "Okay, great!"
      But God added, "Now, we're going to do this just like I did back in the old days with Adam."
     The scientist said, "Sure, no problem" and bent down and grabbed himself a handful of dirt.
     God looked at him and said, "No, no, no.  You go get your own dirt!"

God's heavenly plan doesn't always make earthly sense. --Charles Swindoll

There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, "Thy will be done," and those to whom God says, "All right, then, have it your way."    --C.S. Lewis

Where God has put a period, do not change it to a question mark.   --T.J. Bach