I know in the body of Christ many are facing very difficult situations. Many are under attack, many are discouraged, and many have been paralyzed by recent attacks that have come into their lives. I hear people saying, “I’ve prayed and prayed and it seems that God is just not answering.” Or they say, “This is the driest time in my life, yet I believe that I’m doing what is right.” They are endeavoring with all of their hearts to follow God but they are finding it very difficult.

At every turn they are facing difficulty, obstacles, and persecution. It seems that their circumstances loom on every side like mountains. They believe there is no where to turn, no escape to be found. We can be sure of this, there is a right response. God has not left us without answers to life’s questions. No matter how difficult our situation, God is our solution. The Bible says in the book of James:

If you need wisdom—if you want to know what God wants you to do—ask him, and he will gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking.
(James 1:5)

In times like this, we need heavenly wisdom—we do not need another man’s opinion, and we do not need to hear the latest rumors. Sometimes what we think we need is more information about the situation, when in fact the more information we have, the more confused we become. What we need is wisdom from heaven, wisdom from God for our lives. However, James goes on to tell us that when we ask for wisdom we need to believe, be in faith that not only will we receive the specific wisdom that we are requesting, but have faith in the specific wisdom that we receive.

Only it must be in faith that he asks with no wavering (no hesitating, no doubting). For the one who wavers (hesitates, doubts) is like the billowing surge out at sea that is blown hither and thither and tossed by the wind. For truly, let not such a person imagine that he will receive anything [he asks for] from the Lord, [For being as he is] a man of two minds (hesitating, dubious, irresolute), [he is] unstable and unreliable and uncertain about everything [he thinks, feels, decides].
(James 1:6) 

Many of us are asking all the right questions, some of us are even getting the right answers, but that is not enough. The Bible says that our faith requires corresponding action. You have to take action on the leading that the Lord has given you. The longer you wait the more difficult it becomes. Many times what happens is that we go to the Lord in prayer, asking for the wisdom for daily living but when the Lord answers our prayers and speaks to our hearts we don’t immediately act upon His Word.

Instead we continue to ponder our problems and seek solutions that are intellectually satisfying. Somehow we seek to satisfy all of the conflicting emotions, to please all of the parties affected, and to address every possible scenario that might arise as a result of our decisions. The result is that we are paralyzed into doing nothing. Our hesitating to act upon the Word of God is producing doubt and our faith is wavering. All of this simply contributes to our ever growing confusion.

The Bible says that we become a man of two minds—one never at peace with the other. The end result is that this instability leads to unreliability and uncertainty in every area of our lives. In short it destabilizes our entire lives. Decisions go unmade, and peace always evades us.

In Proverbs we are told that we are to trust in the LORD with all your heart; that we are not to lean on our own understanding. This is the faith we must have in the wisdom that God gives. We have to learn to cast our cares upon the Lord and bring our requests to Him, including our request for daily wisdom; God is faithful to lead and guide us through even the most difficult times. He alone can enable us to navigate the most difficult obstacles in life. We then must take action on the wisdom we receive and trust Him with the results of our decisions. We must never forget:

We are assured and know that [God being a partner in their labor] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose.(Rom. 8:28)

Peace to you as God leads your life into His divine purpose. You can trust Him to lead you and provide for you and love you always. Life’s decisions are not always easy, but never forget blessing is always the result of our obedience.

Randy Mitchell

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Randy Mitchell and his wife Jessica have been married for 29 years and have three daughters. They currently live in Minnesota where Randy serves as the International Director of One World Missions. Randy graduated from Oral Roberts University and ministered in a pastoral role for ten years before starting One World Missions. Randy holds an earned Doctorate of Ministry with an emphasis on the Mission of God's People. Randy was an original signatory of the Toyko Declaration in 2010 and serves on the leadership team of the Global Great Commission Network (GGCN). Randy also serves on the Executive Leadership Team for the Global Mobilization Network (GMN).

Randy has served in both a pastoral role as well as missionary role for over 30 years. He has worked to train leaders and mobilize and equip for missions in over 50 nations. With One World Missions, he works with churches and networks of churches in the US and around the world, coordinating and implementing long-range strategy for missions by networking local churches and missions structures. Randy works on a global level to coordinate missions strategy, train church planters and catalyze mission movements.

Randy believes that the mandate to the church of Jesus Christ is missions. He believes missions work is best defined as any endeavor that has as its goal to bring individuals into right relationship with God. Along with evangelism, Randy believes in the necessity of discipleship and the development of local leadership. He believes the Great commission is global and that all believers are called to participate. This is demonstrated in OWM's commitment to catalyzing indigenous movements. God has placed a unique love in the heart of Randy for all the nations of the world. His priority in missions is to build relationships and through these relationships see partnerships arise for the purpose of extending God's Kingdom to all peoples. He believes that lives are inspired and transformed through friendships and that God works in our lives through the relationships we develop. His calling is to inspire anyone available, whether young or old, to reach out into the world with the love of Jesus. He believes that far more can be accomplished by working together than striving alone and for that reason he works to network and build relationships throughout the body of Christ to connect with people passionate about God and His mission.

Randy ministers at Global, regional and local conferences on a wide array of subjects including Mobilizing the Church for Missions, Global Trends and the Impact on Missions, Partnerships and Collaboration, Church Planting and many other subjects pertinent to the last days church. When not traveling to the nations of the world, Randy is studying and writing extensively about Mission and the Church.