The God Who Goes Before Us

I recently talked with a former student who is struggling with where he is life is right now. He doesn’t like his job, but really has no clue what to do next. My counsel to him was to seek the Lord. Not with just a short prayer, but with intense prayer and fasting. The Lord has promised us that if we ask, it will be given, if we seek we shall find, and if we knock, the door will be opened to us. (Matthew 7:7). Obviously, this is not a carte blanche promise. We need to ask with sincerity and a pureness of heart. When I left my previous ministry, I had no idea of what was next. So, I sought the Lord. I asked for direction and leading. Three months later, I accepted the position with CCF at Appalachian State University. It was a journey full of twists and turns. I put out my CV and received a number of interviews. I also made several inquiries and one stands out. 

I heard of an opening at the University of North Carolina, the university for which basketball coach Roy Williams left the University of Kansas. I figured this might be an ideal situation for me. Similar-sized university and a great basketball team! I called one of the board members and was told that they had a man in mind for the job and were not open to considering any additional candidates. However, this gentleman informed me that CCF at App State was looking for a new campus minister. Interesting. I  submitted my CV and the student president at the time told me later that my name went immediately to the top of the list. I interviewed and was offered the position. I also had an offer from another campus ministry in the Midwest. The choice was made clear to me once I realized that one ministry had no students involved at that time. They were starting from scratch; CCF had students who were active and excited. Nearly 18 years later, I am moving toward the end of my tenure here. 

Now I am beginning a new journey, similar to the previous one in that I am walking by faith that the Lord is going before me and my wife. Back in 2017, while recovering from aortic valve replacement surgery, I began working on a book and praying for the Lord to lead me. Seeking him, I asked for guidance and open doors. At a writers’ conference, I pitched my idea to a couple of publishers. One really liked my idea and followed up with me a few weeks later. The bad news was that his small publishing company wasn’t interested. The good news? He was! Over the next few months, he helped me rework my idea to one which would attract a more broad-based audience. Sadly, his life became too busy to continue helping me directly, but, in retrospect, he helped to change the course of the manuscript to lead me to develop a marketable book. 

After months of discouragement from rejection by mainstream publishers and literary agents, I spoke at a conference in Florida. Because I was unknown, I was scheduled for the last slot on the last day. In the days leading up to it, my wife and I had been praying for connections. I was focused on the Acquisitions Editor of the publishing company sponsoring the conference. The Lord has someone else in mind. 

Much to my surprise, my workshop was well attended and a woman came up afterward extremely excited about what she had heard. In the course of our conversation, she mentioned that if the sponsoring publishing company rejected my proposal, then she would be glad to help me self-publish as she had done. Weeks later, I heard from the company and indeed they were not interested. So, I set up a video call and talked with Mandy. From that one conversation, I found an editor and designer to work with, an endorser for my book, and an opportunity to be on her podcast which has more than 10,000 listeners! 

Today, my book is being launched (you can find information about it here) and I continue to seek the Lord to guide me and I am asking him to use this book in ways that are beyond my imagination. I have no idea what that looks like, but I have faith he is going before me, just as he did for the Israelites coming out of Egypt, the prophets, and the Apostles. I am trusting in him.

I am praying the same for my former student. I pray he will seek God, that he will knock and ask for doors to be open to him. I pray that he will trust the Lord for whatever is next just as I am.

© Jim Musser 2022 All Scripture references are from the New International Version, 2011.