A guest blogger shares how God counseled him and his family from the couch of a pastor’s office to the mission field.

Perhaps you find yourself at the crossroads—having a zeal to serve the Lord on the mission field, but uncertain as to where to go or what to do. Will you knock and wait in faith?

God recently used something as simple as walking through the front door of my dear friend’s home to show me a principle of the Kingdom of God.

When I arrived at my friend’s house I instinctively paused at the front door and knocked. While we are very close and I knew he was expecting me, according to our cultural norms of not barging into someone’s house, I stood on his porch and knocked because I had not been given formal access to his home.

After my friend answered the door and welcomed me in, I realized that I had left something in my car. I went to my car and returned to the front door, but this time I did not stop to knock. I walked right into the house. There was no need to repeat the knocking process. I had been given access. The owner of the home had told me that I was welcome and it was understood that I could go in and out of the front door as much as I wanted.

I felt the Lord speak to me as I crossed the threshold of my friend’s house, “Such is the process that I take My children through as they serve Me.”

As we begin to serve the Lord, there is a season of knocking and waiting at His front door. For some, the door may open immediately. The Lord may fling wide the door to His will for their life. He will greet them at the threshold and give them access to specific corners of His Kingdom, assigning them specific nations or people groups. He will hand them specialized tools for the assignment and send them into the harvest with clear purpose and vision. For this servant, the test will be a test of endurance.

For others, the joyful knocking experienced at the beginning of a journey may turn into a season of persistent waiting, wondering if anyone is home. But if the waiting servant weathers the storms of doubt and second guessing, faith will eventually awaken the King inside, and the door will burst open, releasing a flood of God’s desires. For this servant, the test is no longer a test of endurance, because this child of God has proven to have a heart that endures. Their test will be a test of initiative.

As we move through seasons of knocking, waiting, receiving direction, and moving forward, my wife and I hold on to Psalm 25:14a,

“The secret counsel of the Lord is for those who fear Him.”

Our priority and focus is not on hearing from God. We focus on what precedes His secret counsel, which is the fear of the Lord. And by faith, we know the counsel will come in due season.

Whether we are waiting for direction or charging forward with clear-eyed vision, we know that the counsel of the Lord is ours, because our focus remains on Jesus. As long as our eyes are fixed on the Good Shepherd, we know that He will lead us with His loving eye upon us (Psalm 32:8).

Is this not how Jesus taught us with the example of His life?

“I assure you: The Son is not able to do anything on His own, but only what He sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, the Son also does these things in the same way. For the Father loves the Son and shows Him everything He is doing.” John 5:19-20a (HCSB)

This is how Jesus conducted His daily life, by walking according to the secret counsel of His Father. He knew that His Father loved Him and would show Him what to do.

As adopted sons and daughters of the King, we too can conduct our daily lives in communion with the One who not only has all wisdom, but has given us His Spirit which searches the deep things of God and reveals them to us (1 Corinthians 2:10).

So, if you find yourself at the cross roads of having a zeal to serve the Lord on the mission field, but you aren’t certain where to go or what to do, go to your Father’s house and knock, persistently and with faith, trusting that He will answer and lead you by His perfect counsel.

Neil Broere

While living in Iraq in 2013, Neil and his wife Lindsey (and their 4 children) saw firsthand the wide open door for the Gospel in the Middle East. They are preparing to move back to Iraq to minister to Syrian refugees. Neil and his family are passionate to see the church in the Middle East restored, rebuilt, and replanted (Ezekiel 36). www.ironkiteinternational.com