I believe I can speak for most Christians when I say we do not want to miss God's will for our lives, especially in short-term things. Doing God's will must be a paramount desire in all of our lives if we want to walk in God's favor and receive His best. God always rewards obedience. My friend obedience alone is honoring to the Lord and He judges disobedience.

You know it is easy praising God while standing in church after you have accomplished what you thought was God's will, but my friend what if you think you have missed doing God's will? Can you still stand in church and praise God? What if you think you did not fulfill what you thought God wanted you to do? No matter how long we have walked with the Lord we all will miss it at times. We must understand this point very well, if not we are deceiving ourselves and setting ourselves up for greater presumption and loss. Please note when we miss it there is always some type of loss experienced by us or others. I have found others pay a greater price for us missing it. Another odd thought we must wrestle with is if you miss it once in an area you will probably miss it a second and maybe a third time. I wish God would stop us when we miss it, but He will not. He expects us to learn the lesson (the first time) He is teaching and we must stop ourselves before He has to get our attention.

Please let me share an experience with you that happened the last two weeks. Around the end of each year, after prayer and fasting, I start putting together my schedule (where I feel God is saying to go) for the up coming year. I have invitations from all over the world, but it seems God has me on a two or three year cycle in visiting seven or eight countries. Establishing and maintaining Godly relationships with churches in foreign lands are far more important than traveling from meeting to meeting or conference to conference. The Body of Christ is built on two things; Christ the solid rock and Godly relationships. So I scheduled Tanzania for September, my first attempt. In August Jake Luffy, Tony Hardin, and I ministered in Romania and Bulgaria, it was long and hard and I experienced some urology problems so I bumped my trip to Tanzania back to October, my second attempt. As I got closer to going there came over me a feeling of not wanting to go, but this is nothing new I never want to leave my wife and family for a place always far austere from my home. So Karen and I headed to the airport she was going to drop me off at the airport and return home. On the way we stopped by a rest area to use the facilities, I just bent over to get a drink of water and threw my back out. What pain, like someone jabbed me in the back with a knife, but we continued on to the airport. Karen dropped me off (it was now much tougher to go I was injured) and I checked my bag. The lady at the counter asked if I was okay and I said yes, but she knew that was not speaking the truth. Funny how others know when we are lying. I continued on to security and once through I could hardly walk so I called Karen, got my bag, and we went directly to see our wonderful family doctor, Dr. Hal Messec. There I received his professionalism, heartfelt sympathy and love, four prescriptions, and four shots all were needed to get me well. So, after getting better (surprising fast in one week) and able to easily move my flight ticket ahead one week I struck out again for Tanzania, my third attempt. Karen again took me to the airport we even stopped at the rest area and I had a drink of water from the same fountain. No problem, God must be in favor of me going. I flew from Raleigh-Durham (RDU) to John F. Kennedy (JFK) in New York (one and half hours) and planning then on for a 13 hour flight to Dubai in the Arab Emirates. All followed by a five and half hour flight to Dar Es Salaam . Well, after three or four hours out of JFK my heart started to talk to me by way of an angina attack. Words cannot express the professionalism and care I received at the hands of Emirates Airlines. It is easy to see why they are the best airlines in the heavens. Chief Purser George, Flight Attendants; Mohamed, a wonderful Korean lady whose name I could not remember, and how could I ever forget Billy (a wonderful Thai man) who talked with me, gave me oxygen, monitored my vital signs, and even rubbed my arm and hand for hours. I have never seen such professionalism and knowledge of skill by a crew in life threatening circumstances. I am glad this happened on Emirates and not on an American Airline. And the crown jewel of Emirates' care was when the pilot made the decision to divert from the flight plan and take me to Istanbul , Turkey . The pilot was in direct communication with a doctor in Arizona , USA who worked for Med-Link. And, who could forget the third pillar of my life saving care, Dr. Joseph Carozza. “Doc” Joe as I called him was great he was really a life saver at 34,000 feet. What can you say to a man who helped save your life? Is thank you enough? I think not. I think it would be a good reward if “Doc” Joe and his wife received another trip on Emirates for free. He wasted on me hours from his first class ticket. What do you say to a company like Emirates Airlines who help save my life? Is thank you enough? I think not. I think I know some what the cost and expense Emirates went through on my behalf to divert their 777-200/300 not to mention the politics involved acquire emergency landing rights. Once on the ground in Turkey Emirates' employees; Ali (who I think paid $20 for my visa) and Zeynep who both spent the night in the emergency room with me. When I think of God's grace to me I easily think of the people I have afore mentioned who cared for me far above and beyond their duty. I think all of the Emirates' Staff on Flight 204 on 1 November from JKF to Dubai should be greatly commended for their professionalism, attention to detail, and given an increase in pay or at least a big bonus.

After returning home God shared some three thoughts with me about missing it. So I would like to share these with you and if you too miss it you might understand the heart of God in all of it.

The first time I returned home (after I hurt my back) and while laying in the tub asking God why this all happened, I felt the Holy Spirit speak to my spirit, “My Grace is sufficient for you.” Now I thought God was staying go and I will give you strength to go again to Tanzania . Well, that could have been true, but now after my third try I see God was saying and is the first point we must always remember when we miss we MUST never beat ourselves up, but fall helpless into the rest of God's grace. His grace was there for me not only in my going, but also in my not going. God was saying I can cover your not going with my grace as easy as I can cover your going for me. No matter what happens God's grace is always sufficient and will meet us at our present need. Grace is much more than something we use for salvation. It is at these times of our perceived failure we must cling to this truth and learn the lessons God is teaching so that we will not make similar mistakes.

The second point we must always remember is one of God's purposes in us missing it is to break and humble us the more. Often at the heart of missing it is presumption a most dangerous place in God. Always remember our identity in God is not based on what we do for God (Pastor, Teacher, Evangelist, etc), but who we are in God is based on our heart condition . Those that “ go ye into all the world” are not any more special to God than those who are faithful to God at their home. I travel the world because God told me to go, not because I really like to. It is all about heart obedience to what God told you to do. Not obedience in doing and going, but obedience in our heart, in our motives, and in our desires in going and doing what God told us to do. My relationship with God is not based on going and doing, but on a relationship with Him through His precious Son Jesus Christ and some day I will look like Him as He is.

And the third point , God's ways are not our ways. I signed up to go to Tanzania to teach in a Beholding His Glory (BHG) Conference, not to hurt my back and have unstable angina at 34,000 feet for seven plus hours over the Atlantic Ocean and Europe or to be dropped off in Istanbul, Turkey and spent six hours in a Turkish emergency room, but God could have other plans. In doing God's will there is a plan that is accomplished like going to Mbeya, Tanzania and teaching in the BHG Conference, but running parallel there is a higher plan of God in the sending us forth and that is always to share the Gospel message no matter where on earth we find ourselves; in sickness or health, in riches or poverty, in good times or bad our orders are loud and clear tell others about the love and grace of Jesus Christ. We see this truth in the lives of the Disciples, Paul, and others in the Bible as they traveled from church to church to establish a structure and network on which the Gospel message could be delivered (God's accomplish plan) they shared with countless untold people God brought their way. When these two plans intersect and come into conflict (like me not going to Tanzania because God had other plans for me) we often feel we have missed it, but not so in God. We have fulfilled a higher plan and if true to God we must not feel bad about not completing the journey. Nor should we condemn ourselves or listen to the naysayers telling us we have failed God. One thought that kept me going after my first attempt was in the last 11 years I have never not completed a ministry trip I started. This was foolish, God loved me whether I finish my trip or not. Remember, it is not what we do for God that counts, but how we do things for God , do we do them with the right heart condition and with the right motives. Rewards in God are not based on what, but how. All along the three day journey I could see the hand of God in operation. Where I saw it the most was not by the great care I received, but in the contacts I made along the way. Coming back my 12 hour flight to the States I met a wonderful Christian couple (Terry and Jane) from Seattle , WA . We talked and talked about the Lord and so many things, how this encouraged me and made me feel much better. I think of “Doc” Joe who I gave a copy of my latest book and saw him reading it. I think of Joy one of the ladies I got stranded with at JFK. On my way back to RDU Delta Airlines cancelled our flight after it was delayed two hours and we sat on the tarmac for another two and half hours. But what added insult to injury, Delta gave us food and lodging vouchers at a Ramada Inn that was rejected by the hotel, so we had to sleep on the floor at JFK. We (about 20 folks) all banded together to get to the Ramada Inn and since I was big and ugly I was chosen guide and leader. But all along the way I spoke with atheists and Christians sharing Jesus not missing God's higher call.