The Lord said to Samuel, “How long are you going to mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem because I have selected a king from his sons.” - 1 Samuel 16:1
As a minister of the gospel, I have been allowed by God to gain a broad range of experience across a varied, sometimes complex canvas of cultures. Of course, this has also meant that my family has had to endure some pretty radical changes. Changing ministries (and the accompanying move) often involves some hard goodbyes and anxious hello's coupled with some uncertainty about the "rightness" of the decision. I am a strong advocate for following Christ, but one needs to be sure that it is He who is leading.
Like Samuel, who had to let go of Saul (and quite possibly his own sense of responsibility for Saul's failed leadership), releasing past ministry can be extremely difficult. Yet, God's command to the prophet remains ripe with correction, promise, and purpose for anyone in a similar position today. Most mistakes we make in God's service bear the mark of self rather than the Savior. We must abandon selfish ideas or ambitions. To put it in the simplest terms possible, "God sends. We serve." All that remains is for us to learn from the past, be filled with the Spirit of God, and go (or stay) wherever He leads.
A revival is nothing else than a new beginning of obedience to God. - Charles G. Finney
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