Throughout Scripture we see that God guides his people in mission by putting special burdens into their spirits. When Nehemiah left for Jerusalem to rebuild its walls, he didn’t have a command from God. He simply said that God had “put it into his heart” to do it (Nehemiah. 2:12). When Paul came to Athens, Luke records his spirit was “provoked” within him about the idolatry in Athens (Acts 17:16).
He evidently took this provocation as a direction to stay and preach the gospel there. Later in his ministry he would identify a holy “ambition” that God had put in his heart to preach Christ only where he had never been named. He says, “It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else's foundation." This verse reflects Paul's missionary strategy of prioritising reaching areas where the gospel had not yet been proclaimed, avoiding the duplication of effort and potentially building on the work of others.
How do we journey to discover our holy ambition as disciples.? One of the greatest benefits is the humility it cultivates in our exploring our holy ambition. We can easily make an ambitious plan to leverage our lives for the kingdom—without really consulting the God who rules and empowers that kingdom. Seeking a holy ambition through the lens of Scripture demands submission to the Spirit who reveals God’s plan, not ours.
And the benefit of this unfolding holy ambition is the development within us of spiritual clarity, focus and spiritual ambition.
Lord, may my spirit, heart and mind be like yours to make carrying out the will of the Father greater than my own will based in my humanity. By your Spirit, empower me to make the spiritual and personal transformation to prepare to walk in my calling. Fill me with confidence based in who You are and help me to trust you with the outcome so I can have courage to step out into what You are calling me to do. Amen
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