Isaiah 30:21 And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.
DEAL WITH CONFLICT OF INTEREST
I'll retell a story about myself to illustrate this point. Years back, I became tired of field ministry because of poor welfare. I thought about what the way out could be and I concluded that if I start a church, my lot would be better. Those days, I saw young men like me sitting as senior pastors over churches and I told myself that I could do same. In fact, a man told me young men like me were starting churches around town and I could do same. I began to nurse the idea of starting a church. However, I had serious trouble within me almost immediately after concluding on that plan. I became confused and that confusion lingered for long. I called one of my mentors and told him what I was planning. He asked me a simple question, "what did God tell you in the beginning"? That question struck me hard and gave me a reset.
From the onset when I started to plan my exit from field ministry, I knew God didn't tell me to start a church but because I was interested in another path of ministry I felt was rewarding, I became confused. The confusion was caused by the clash between divine instruction received earlier and my personal interest which was not in line with God's will for my life. It is possible to have heard from God truly and later become confused due to conflicting self-glorifying personal interest. More often than not, this happens to most believers. Look at it this way, a single brother/ sister who prayed and heard clearly from God about whom to marry may experience confusion because God's leading may not tilt towards personal interest. If a brother with tribal sentiment receives the leading to marry a sister from another tribe when he is already eyeing a sister from his own tribe, he may become confused because of the clash between his personal interest and what God is saying.
The presence of confusion is not always the absence of divine direction/ a clear leading from God. Sometimes, it could result from a clash of interest. The only way to handle this is to surrender to God's will and be obedient to Him. Sometimes, we go into the place of prayer asking God for direction whereas we have made up our minds on what we want. When God speaks, instead of accepting His leading, we enter into a phase of internal turbulence. I have not condemned having a personal desire but you need not be rigid about it. Empty yourself of your ways and you'll know peace. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight."
Father, I receive grace to obey you and to empty myself of my ways in Jesus name.