One of them men that served as a role model for me in my early adult life was Dr. David McKenna, fourth president of Asbury Seminary. Dr. McKenna is a man of deep faith and wrote many wonderful books about leadership and service.
One of the stories that I remember from his chapel remarks had to do with this final means of developing a clear vision. He graduated from Asbury in the early 1950’s and was preparing for a ministry in college and university administration.
One day, he said, the sense that God was calling Him to go to the mission field became quite evident. He went on to say that he began to wrestle with this apparently new calling that created a inner storm that he could not quiet until he finally said, okay Lord, if you want me to go to the mission field, I will go.
A few days passed after this resolution and he said he then had a sense that God said to him, no, I have called you to the university to serve. Out of that experience he deduced that he had to give the Lord unqualified obedience that might lead to an unexpected change of direction.