focus

· Is the will of God more like a location, a journey, or a maze?

HT: More like a journey. I believe “that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God” has room for us to exercise our will while in compliance with the various controlling parameters as spelled in the attached lesson.

· Did you experience any confusion in regards to the will of God (in regards to your spouse, job, area of service, etc.)?

HT: Yes, my limited and frail human understanding has, on occasion, not lived up to God’s desire that I understand and remember His will on the larger/strategic level. I have tried too hard (impatiently) to force the issue(s) before me to get a specific direction or decision. Without waiting for further and fuller leading from the Lord, I’ve been perplexed with the incomplete and unclear situation before me. This has particularly happened in discerning direction with changes of ministry.

· Did you have to wait on God for any length of time?

HT: Yes, on more than one occasion. God’s will is not a fast food drive-thru window. However, knowing that hasn’t kept me from being impatient with God. I mean, who among us likes having unknowns in our lives? Actually, waiting is often part of God’s will for us so we can learn valuable lessons in life while on our “journey.”

· How did you know you were marrying the right person?

HT: Actually, I’m not the right guy to answer this question since I wasn’t living for the Lord when I made that decision back in 1973. I praise God for His grace in protecting me in that, though. I did unknowingly apply some scriptural principles, but not enough of the ones I’ve since learned and taught to others (as presented in the compatibility lesson), including my own three grown children.

· How did you know you were supposed to go into full-time ministry?

HT: As I gained more experience in teaching, preaching, and ministering as an active and faithful church member, I realized it was something God had prepared me to do. Having a set of diverse experiences in my military career prepared me for the various diversities of mission ministry. I saw the need and saw the abilities that God had given me to be a part of meeting that need. It was a scriptural, logical, and emotional decision for me.

· Did you ever feel that your will and God's will were at odds?

HT: Yes, but more in retrospect or reflection after the fact than during it. But, hey, anytime that I’ve sinned in the past 30 years or so, I’ve known that my will at that moment and in that action was at odds with God’s. In a couple of rather major decisions, I've done some "Monday morning quarterbacking" and think perhaps I blew it after all. Surely if I had decided and acted differently, the outcome, or at least the path to it, would have been different. In those cases, I've had to claim Romans 8:28 for the actual outcomes being "for good."

· Did you ever think you were "going out on a limb" in regards to God's will?

HT: Not really. I’ve pretty well pondered and prayed major things out. Usually if there was some consternation or discomfort with a decision that was to be made, after prayerfully asking for God’s guidance, wisdom and strength to do the right thing and then deciding and doing what I believed to be right, that “peace which passeth all understanding” kicked in.

· Did God use any special signs or supernatural revelations to confirm His will?

HT: He has seemed to more use logic to me. Even in matters of faith, God has always seemed reasonable to me. Scriptural passages like “Come now, and let us reason together” (Is 1:18), “which is your reasonable service” (Rom 12:1), and “be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Rom 12:2) have given me this view. Once while near the end of my military career, I was perplexed about a personnel action affecting me that initially caused some disappointment and confusion. Then early one morning in my devotion time as I was pondering that situation, it rather “dawned” on me that God had done this to me on more than one occasion before. I recalled numerous times over the years where I had asked for a particular assignment and was not given it, sometimes even after I thought that I had it. Each and every time that happened, the assignment that I actually received led to some major blessing that likely could not have happened had I been granted my desire. I realized that if I knocked on a door and it remained closed to me, then God had another, better, door to open for me instead. That gave me the peace to trust Him and, sure enough, the principle bore out in practice again and again then and in other cases since then. I often make a “logic table” of pros and cons and as I make the decision, I ask God to close the door for me if I’m doing it wrong and open it for me if I’m doing it right.

· Does God have one plan and only one plan for your life?

HT: I don’t believe so. As I said above, I believe “that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God” has room for us to exercise our will while in compliance with the various controlling parameters as spelled in the attached lesson. I personally think that God delights in seeing us decide and act within the parameters of prescription and permission, much like I have enjoyed watching my children make their own choices consistent with Biblical criteria and values.

· What things has God used to guide you in specific ways?

HT: He used a former pastor’s short-term mission trip report to introduce to me the great need in Asia and eventually move me to devote myself to the meeting of that need. He used a set of tribulations and trials in our former church to move us to our present church after we scripturally tried to resolve those issues where we were. He has confirmed His will in these things over and over since leading me into them.

· What would you say if an 18-year-old graduate of high school asked you, "How can I know God's will for my life?"

HT: First, I would explain the importance of knowing God’s will for mankind in this age of grace and how it differs from other ages to put our particular individual case in proper scriptural context. (In other words, try to make sure the tactical scenario - your personal part of God's will - is defined and understood in the proper strategic context - God's overarching will for all mankind.) Then I would endeavor to communicate how it is that God’s will for our particular individual lives is 1) declared in His word, 2) decided by those whom He has duly placed in authority and who are acting consistent with His word, and/or 3) discerned by scriptural principles, providence, and peace.