I do not believe Pastor Swanson had set out for Korea one day apart from our Lord’s guiding hand, despite the fact that all he had initially was a small glimpse of a much larger picture. What might seem haphazard to us (Swanson goes to Korea/Swanson has his coat stolen/Swanson founds Compassion) was detailed and orchestrated by God before the foundations of the world were laid. The idea was not birthed on a plane, Swanson only discovered it there.

While it is absolutely true we willingly subject ourselves to a process of searching and choosing, make no mistake about it, God has planned every detail. Incredibly, God uses the discovery process as a way to refine and sanctify us. We are as stones being prepared in a quarry for the temple, the likes of which we will not fully see until we pass from this life. Each stone is hammered and chiseled and has a specific position in God’s masterpiece. The fact that we dream of and strive to be that special block on the first floor with the southern exposure will not make it so.

Our dreams; the desires of our hearts have already been fashioned for us by our Creator and for His good pleasure. It is our spiritual mission to learn it and to have our will align with His will. The Bible tells us how, so when we get to Heaven in agreement we will say, “For true and righteous are His judgments!”

Again, I do not believe for a minute that the Compassion ministry was birthed solely by man plagued by the reality of poverty. No, I believe with all my heart that God had ordained the Compassion ministry long before Pastor Swanson was born. It is only because he (Swanson) was walking faithfully and obediently, that God revealed it to him.
The truth be told if Pastor Swanson did not answer the call that day, God would have found someone else to launch this His ministry.

If we are uncertain of God’s will for our lives, perhaps we are looking to far down the road. God’s will is such an easy thing to determine when the Christian asks of God, “What do you want me to do right this very second?”

Forgive me for a moment as I put myself in Pastor Swanson’s shoes. If, before stepping on that plane for Korea, God revealed the portion of His tapestry that illustrated the Compassion ministry in all its splendor and then said to me, “THIS is what I want you to do,” I would have freaked and likely walked away. We know from history that is not what occurred.

“Go and speak with the soldiers,” God said to him and he obeyed. My Bible is chockfull of stories of people who were given the next step (like Pastor Swanson) after they were obedient to the first. What does God want you to do now; this very second? Go and do that first. In so doing God will place in our hearts desires far beyond those we could have ever imagined.