Mission with Prophetic Power: The Journal of John Woolman (SRSC 12)

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Mission with Prophetic Power: The Journal of John Woolman

what is clearly God’s will. Sometimes we have a legitimate desire to minister but a moral dilemma stands in the way (like Woolman faced in his discernment regarding the trip to the West Indies). A true prophetic mission discerns the heart of God, the signs of the times, the sufferings of people, and one’s own inner strengths and weaknesses. Finish Well Finally, a mission with prophetic power finishes well. The prophet, or the prophetic mission, stays the course. We have seen too many charismatic leaders fall into the traps of money, sex, or power. When this happens it hinders the ministry’s power. I love the encouragement in the book of Ephesians that those who are strong in the Lord must be those who “having done all, . . . stand firm” (Eph 6:13). I want to see those who at the end of the battle are still standing. This is not a power of spectacular miracles. Rather, it is the simple miracle of perseverance. Woolman persevered. He kept his values to the very end, even when compromise could perhaps have lengthened his life. Finishing well also means leaving the results of your voice to the Lord. Woolman simply traveled and spoke. Again and again in his Journal he speaks of his need to be resigned before the Lord who brings acceptance or rejection. Though he saw a growth in people’s concern with slavery, he did not really see the results of his prophetic ministry. Are we willing to persevere through years of mixed reviews, and even to die, without feeling “fulfilled” or even knowing that our work had any real effect?