"He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”. Acts 1:7-8 ESV

My prayer in missions is that we do not let the cart get before the horse. Too often when we talk about missions, we talk from our perspective. Where we feel passionate, where we feel we should go, what we feel we should do.

But in establishing His Church, God is in the lead, not us.

Today's passage is a perfect illustration of this. We often cite Acts 1:8 when calling people to missions. But ignoring verses 1:6-7 rips away the context. The context is that, at the resurrection, the apostles still held the view that Christ's purpose was to establish the political nation of Israel. Even after walking with Christ for years, witnessing intense miracles, watching the crucifixion, and now seeing Him conquer death, the apostles still wanted God to fulfill their narrative. How often have we done the same?

May we return to simply pray, “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on Earth as it is in heaven.”

By letting God lead, we are releasing Him from having to fulfill our vision of missions, and opening ourselves to what He is capable of doing. This is also a key part of 1:8 that we miss. 

Missions is not only letting Him lead in terms of the big things (who, what, where), but in the small moments as well. Making space for His Holy Spirit to disrupt our daily routines to reach those right here around us. By walking in and with His Spirit, we will allow Him to reach our families, neighbors and world.

Father, may we be a Church that lets You lead. We repent for creating our own narratives and asking You to join us in what we want to do. We ask that You guide us, speak to us, and teach us in how You want to reach the world. We invite Your Spirit into our lives today and each day. May our heart be one with Yours as we reach out to the hurting, lost, and broken among us.