How To Know If God Wants You To Go

In 1915, twenty-eight men were alone, trapped in the ice-covered waters of Antarctica's treacherous seas. "Frozen," as one man put it, "like an almond in the middle of a chocolate bar." These were the men of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition in the coldest climate on earth. They suffered frostbite, gangrene, hysteria, starvation, all for the glory of being the first ones to cross the Antarctic continent from sea to sea, the greatest polar journey ever attempted to date. The leader of the expedition, Sir Ernest Shackleton, had put an ad in the newspaper that read:

"Men wanted for hazardous journey. Small wages. Bitter cold. Long months of complete darkness. Constant danger. Safe return doubtful. Honor and recognition in case of success. Ernest Shackleton."

And 5000 people applied.

Why?

They wanted some great purpose and passion in their boring lives. Samuel Zwemer said that “so many young people’s minds and hearts are occupied by weak things, by inconsequential things. Their eyes have never been illumined by a great vision, their mind has never been gripped by unselfish thoughts, their hearts have never been thrilled with the passion for the lost, their hands have never grown weary and strong in the lifting of a great burden.”

If you want to be gripped by a cause greater than yourself and the toys you can gather in suburban America, I present you with the cause of the Christless millions and the call to leave houses and lands and family and friends and the Olive Garden restaurant, and find some pocket of people who haven’t heard the Gospel, like gypsie nomads, urban businessmen, or isolated mountaineers.

But how do you know if God wants YOU to go? I recognize that there some is some debate and discussion about this: some say “make sure you are called before you storm the beaches of a demon-possessed land.” Others say “Why do we need a call when we have a clear command?” I agree with both, but offer a little filter for those considering this high calling.  

1. You must be surrendered to go. This answers the question, "Would I go?" All believers ought to say "yes" but deep down, most people are saying "no." Some believers say "yes" but do not live with any level of faithfulness and surrender to God where they live now, so the net answer is still "no." I don't see much difference between being surrendered to GOD and being surrendered to GO (just one letter in fact). Anyone surrendered to God would say, "Here am I, send me" (Isaiah 6:8).

2. You must have a desire to go. This answers the question, "Do I want to go?" Paul said, “Necessity is laid on me, yea, woe is unto me if I preach not the Gospel.” One of the evidences of a call of God on a man to preach is what 1 Timothy 3:1 calls a desire for the work. The Bible teaches that as we delight in the Lord He fills our heart with His desires, as a branch fills up with the life of the vine. If your thoughts fly to the foreign fields and if your heart goes after the poor and needy, this is not devil-work; it is Divine desire. Why not verify this desire by spending a few years serving in some needy outpost. It really isn't all that difficult to find a short-term opportunity, you know.  

3. You must have the qualifications to go. This answers the question, "Should I go?" You see, you may want to fly fighter jets, but if you do not have perfect eyes, you won’t fly F-16s. You need qualifications. Young Timothy joined Paul in the mission because he showed the signs of being qualified. There is nothing about foreign geography which makes a missionary spiritual. If you don’t walk with God now, you won’t on the field. Timbuktu will not make you holy, and unfortunately, many who want to go are simply not going to pass the tests of faithfuless that God requires of his stewards. By the way, how would you know if you are spiritually qualified? Ask your local church--the institution/organism God ordained to ordain missionaries! Ask your pastors and other church leaders where you need to improve your character and gain skills. Ask them to be honest! And if you are lacking in your qualifications, start now. Grow your soul.  

4. You must have the opportunity to go. This answers the question, "Could I go?" Avoid things which will stifle your opportunities: financial debt, a wife or husband not interested, etc., and then look for the opportunities to get to a foreign field! If the Red Sea of opportunity parts for you, don't stand around thinking "Uuuh, is this God? Should I cross?" Of course you should get counsel before seizing an opportunity, but remember that over-analysis can cause paralysis. As Matt Recker preaches, "Sometimes you have to get going in the wrong direction in order to arrive in the right direction" (Acts 16:6-10). And as my pastor (Dr. Bud Calvert) preached, "If you go to the field and plant a bunch of churches, go to Heaven and discover it wasn't God's will, He'll probably forgive you." I'm not advocating a spin-the-globe kind of decision-making here, but my hunch is that we're off balance to the side of strategizing and planning missions, not on the side of boldly doing missions. When you're surrendered and have the desire and qualifications, God sends an open door.

Would you go? Do you want to go? Should you go? Could you go?