When "Perfect Fits" Don't Fit

How could it not be “of God” when it seemed to fit so perfectly?

Several years ago, I was immersed in trying to quench my insatiable thirst for God to use me while squashing the accompanying frustration of it not occurring often enough.

𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙣, 𝙞𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙙!

I was attending a ministry seminar at church where a leader shared his recent experiences ministering in a local jail. As he shared story after story of the Holy Spirit moving powerfully in prisoners’ hearts and saving them left and right, I was inspired.

It had been several decades since I witnessed the Holy Spirit move upon people like this leader was describing, and my heart longed to see that again. When he invited us to join his prison ministry team, I jumped at the chance!

I prayed about the opportunity and did not sense any reservations from the Holy Spirit. So, I excitedly began the application process.

I was progressing on the exhaustive questionnaire when some unexpected issues arose in our ministry that required my undivided attention. The feeling of taking one step forward and twelve steps backward was all too familiar to me—but I had no choice, and I put the application process on hold until the crisis was averted.

Two months later, I sat down to finish the ministry application I started. But something was different, and I did not know why. I prayed more about it and discussed it further with my husband.

It did not take long before I realized my initial prayer and lack of reservations about the jail ministry were not the results of me seeking the Lord’s Will. They were the outcome of me “checking off the prayer box” after already deciding it 𝘸𝘢𝘴 God’s will for my life.

I also learned that my hunger for more ministry and my frustration over it not materializing fast enough made me vulnerable to saying “Yes” to things the Lord was not leading me to do.

Through this experience, I discovered how imperative it is to seek God’s will rather than offering a quick prayer before jumping into every godly opportunity—even when it fits my gifts and calling like a glove.