Q: How can I know God's timing?

We serve a God who knows your individual heart, so as you speak with other missionaries you may be surprised that His call is different in everyone's life. My husband and I were both of pre-teen age when we were called to China. God gave us a heart for China and we knew that someday we would be there. About 15 years later, we met each other and began a friendship. During that time we realized that God has given us a heart for the people of China. Later we married, but it wasn't until another 10 years before we arrived in China. Why did it take us so long? I have no idea, but when we went, it was so right!

A friend asked me if I thought my love for the Chinese people was always there, or if it was something God put in my heart while I was a child. I told him that I did not know, but I wouldn't change the love I have for them for anything else. We are back in the States, but hope to return to our second home, China.

Pray each day about the burden for missions you have. God will speak to you through His Word, through the Holy Spirit in your times of prayer and through other Christians in your life.

We believe that big moves require big confirmation, and God is faithful to provide that. One must have a heart assurance of a call to endure the inherent difficulties and sacrifices that come with that call. For those who are married, this must be true for both husband and wife.

For some this process will be more mystical in nature than for others. Though we believe that a mystical sense of God's leading in our hearts is desirable, it is not all that God wishes to do. To do something so drastic as becoming a long-term missionary on only a whim or a feeling often produces disastrous results over time.

Take incremental steps with your inquiries to your church, friends, and mission agencies, trusting God to open or shut doors as He sees fit. Look for specific and obvious answers to prayer concerning your move. Often circumstances will line up in an unusual and revealing manner, indicating God's favor toward a specific move.

In our case we wrote down all the small circumstantial "miracles" that God did to get us to Spain, i.e. the way our house sold. By the time we were in Spain there were 20 such confirmations which we kept on file just in case we ever began to doubt God's hand in our long-term calling. This assurance was a source of strength, comfort, and God's peace. God is good to us, and being a missionary is a great honor and heritage, well worth any sacrifice for Him, and worth the time it may take to hear His voice.

First, pray for God to direct your paths. Second, gather information about the fields that interest you. Third, check Scripture to confirm your calling. When He called me to go to Russia, I went home to pray about it and my eyes were drawn to a paper I had written. The topic of the paper was "Evangelism" and my conclusion was that "the most important step in evangelism is to GO." As I searched Scripture, I saw how God blessed Abraham, Elijah, Paul and many others because they obeyed God's call to go. So I obeyed and went and God blessed that work.

I began to look into long-term options for ministry in Russia. Although organizations were eager to have me join, there was a restraining in my heart, and I just knew that this was not what God wanted. I became so confused about God’s will and where He was leading me that I was fed up. Maybe it is at times like this that many people give up on the whole idea of missions. I certainly was very close to that point! I did not have a clue what God wanted from me.

I decided to spend some specific time praying and fasting to discern God’s will. I asked God to speak to me specifically, and at the end of that week He did. I was just reading through the Bible as I did every evening. As I turned to the next chapter in Judges, the peace of God just filled my heart when I read chapter 18. The situation with the Danite tribe was the same as my situation, and I nearly laughed at how specific God was! I knew that God wanted me to go back to Russia with the same agency. It was clear, and after that I never questioned God’s call. I just took Him at His word and went for it.

I have been in Siberia, Russia, for a couple of years and am really enjoying life here. These past years have been some of the hardest of my life, but I can honestly say that I have never experienced God like I have during this time. I am looking forward to what He has in store for me this next year!

I have found that with a willingness to serve, God often finds wonderful ways to prepare us for the calling that lies ahead. Often, our idea of our calling undergoes modification and it is so interesting to me that so many times the preparation that we went through when we were willing turns out to be the exact preparation for the calling that overtakes us as we follow His leading. And sometimes the task that we take on in our willingness turns out to be a better preparation than the task we would have chosen.

I honestly believe that you know without a doubt. When I was exposed to my first short-term outreach as a junior in high school I knew by the end of that two weeks that I would be a missionary some day. When you truly know you have heard God's voice and have the vision before you that He has given you, you will pursue it at all costs. I personally kept this vision in front of me for eight years before it became a true reality. God was continually faithful to bring people across my path who were in YWAM and kept me reminded of the vision. There were honestly times I thought the dream would never become reality. But I am reminded that my timing isn't always God's timing. When our dreams/visions are no longer our own but God's, we truly know when He speaks something as life changing as long-term missions to our heart. After one, two or three short-term outreaches you know for sure if God is calling you to long-term missions.

Let me share about three different times my wife and I launched into full-time missions. During one short-term we visited a number of ministries in South America. On one visit I simply realized "We could do this!" My wife and I returned home, and after some prayer and counsel with godly friends, we applied to the agency and they sent us.

Years later, while out of steady work, we were seeking the Lord for His direction in further ministry. I (foolishly, in some people's eyes) passed by a number of opportunities that seemed so "right." At the time I couldn't give a definitive answer for my delay. However, when later invited into the office of a mission agency, the answer became very clear. They had an emergency need. Ten weeks later, my wife and I and our four children were on the field again, filling a very critical need.

During yet another season of life I struggled when I learned that the man for whom I was working did not want me any longer. Though I survived physically, I was an emotional wreck. I needed more than Scriptural assurance of His will for my life. I needed a fleece! Yes, like Gideon, my emotions needed a sign. I said, "Lord, if you really mean for me to be in ministry, without me doing anything to try to make it happen, I need to see three things: The name for the ministry, the thrust of the ministry and the logo.” Twenty-eight days later, in my regular morning reading of the Word, the Lord did just that!

I trust these three very different circumstances in my life give you some additional perspective on your quest for God's will in your life.

When I meditated on the word GUIDANCE, I kept seeing "dance" at the end of the word. I remember reading that doing God's will is a lot like dancing. When two people try to lead, nothing feels right. The movement doesn't flow with the music, and everything is quite uncomfortable. When one person realizes and lets the other lead, then both begin to flow with the music. One gives gentle cues, perhaps with a nudge or by pressing lightly in one direction or another. It's as if two become one, moving beautifully. Dance takes surrender, willingness, and attentiveness from one person and gentle guidance and skill from the other.

My eyes drew back to the word GUIDANCE. When I saw "G," I thought of God, followed by "u" and "i." "God, "u" and "i" dance." God, you, and I dance. This statement is what guidance means to me.