Looking for a "Burning Bush"....

Have you ever really needed direction in your life?  Wow, that's an understatement for me right now!  It's been 18 years ago now that I felt God call me to ministry while sitting on a basketball court in Guatemala.  As a boy, I didn't really know what I was getting myself into.  I have discovered that it is the greatest adventure!  It tops any fantasy dreams of Indiana Jones that I had as a child too!  Ministry is complicated!  11 years ago now I agreed to be the student pastor at a rural country church in Atmore, AL.  I remember trying to talk God out of being a youth pastor!  It is an ironic calling considering the adolescent that I was!  There are many who use youth ministry as a platform for something greater.  There is no higher calling that student ministry!  Yes, the senior pastor may have a heavier plate, but student ministry deals with the most decisive 8-10 years of a person's life!  It's in those hallways of school, that party on Friday night, and in that relationship that they will determine what kind of person they want to be!  Youth ministry is a gift!  I have been blessed to serve in several churches in those trenches and witnessed God's hand move in this generation!  I was and am unworthy to be God's vessel of use!  Somewhat surprising, I find myself in a transition.  Loving teenagers but knowing God is calling me to be a senior pastor.  Back to school to finish this illusive Masters of Divinity degree, it's challenging me to rethink theology, ministry, and directions! 

God often steps into our situations in the nick of time.  I want to thank Jim Jackson (Director of Missions in Elmore County, AL) for giving me a simple book entitled From Throwing in the Towel to Staying in the Fight by Dr. Harry Strauss.  This study through 2 Timothy brought me initially back to my calling, my "burning bush" moment.  You remember the story of Moses.  God's call and direction came through a supernatural and miraculous phenomena of shrubbery ignited in fire.  There, God's instructions were poured out clearly and thoroughly!  It was a neon sign of God! 

Do you ever feel like you need a "burning bush" moment?  God, I need to hear from you now!  This decision is too hard on my own!  God, I am at a dead end!  It's no encouragement that Moses spent years in the wilderness before God gave him this direction.  Sometimes God's plans don't come quickly and wrapped in a neatly packaged box!  Sometimes it's messy and requires patience! 

Here are my suggestions while waiting on God:
(1).  Don't waste your time.  Don't be so consumed by your need for an answer that you shut down physically, emotionally, socially, and spiritually!  Scripture tells us to "be anxious for nothing" (Philippians 4:6)! 
(2)  Spend more time in Scripture.  God's Word is His heart!  Oftentimes direction comes off the page as clear as day!  Scripture testifies of itself in 2 Timothy 3:16 that it is useful for direction! 
(3)  Seek Spiritual Counsel.  This doesn't mean your best friend who is not a maturing Christian.  I dont' think FaceBook advice (overall) is best either.  Turn Dr. Phil and Oprah off too!  Consider your pastor, youth pastor, Sunday School teacher, or a strong Christian friend or family member.  Ask them to help you pray over this decision,
(4)  Pray.  This is the critical component to discovering God's Will.  It's a change in mindset.  Stop over-analyzing everything and simply come to the throne room of God and spend time there!  Sometimes you will get direct answers.  Sometimes you will get solitude and peace.  No matter the outcome of that intimate conversation with God, you will step away from that time assured of God's good, pleasing, and perfect will!  

A note from the writer.... 
Today I find myself looking for a "burning bush"!  God's calling on my life has brought me to a new place and new setting, but I eagerly await to serve Him in the church!  Please pray for God's direction, guidance, peace, and grace in my life!  Faith has led me to the point that if God doesn't show up, I am utterly ruined!!!