What
do you do when you realize that it could all go on without you and
nothing would change? When you think that God could have done what He
wanted to do even if you never spoke up?
Do
you run from God and end up in the belly of a big fish like Jonah or
do you continue on like Gideon and obey God doing what He would want
you to do?
I
don't know about you but even on the days when I feel like Winnie the
Pooh and cry out “Oh Bother” or like Eeyore and say “Why
bother”; I know that my striving is but for the day I get to stand
in front of my Lord and hear the words “Well done my good and
faithful servant”. Nothing else matters in life any more than
momentarily being joyful or sorrowful. Not when we compare it to
being with Christ.
Oh,
the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or
stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. But they delight
in the law of the LORD, meditating on it day and night.” Psalm 1
1-2
How
easy it should be to live in the right way, that is, the way Christ
told us to live in Matthew .
Therefore,
go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name
of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Teach
these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be
sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Mathew 28:19-20
We
were given a directive straight from the mouth of God and yet we try
to do everything else. We live for ourselves, we do our own things we
even do as Moses and try to tell God we are not capable or qualified
to do what He tells us to do.
...he
said to him, “I am the
Lord!
Tell Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, everything I am telling you.”
But
Moses argued with the Lord,
saying, “I can’t do it! I’m such a clumsy speaker! Why should
Pharaoh listen to me?” Exodus 6:29-30
God
could have, and would have worked through Moses straight to Pharaoh
but he chickened out thinking he would need to be a more
professionally sounding speaker in order to get the job done.
Many
would be pastors and teachers do the same. They think God can't use
them because they are struggling in school or at the jobs they are
working at the moment they are called.
Without
God we really aren't qualified to do anything; with Him we can do all
things!
We
are confident of all this because of our great trust in God through
Christ. It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on
our own. Our qualification comes from God. He has enabled us to be
ministers of his new covenant. This is a covenant not of written
laws, but of the Spirit. The old written covenant ends in death; but
under the new covenant, the Spirit gives life. 2
Corinthians 3:4-6
It's
sort of like having your cake and eating it too, really; we can live
the life we enjoy while sharing Jesus with others.
As
the Lord has said to the Church at Philadelphia in Revelations, I
believe He wants us to know just how involved He wants to be in our
lives.
“I
know all the things you do, and I have opened a door for you that no
one can close. You have little strength, yet you obeyed my word and
did not deny me...”
Revelations 3:8-9
He
knows all things, and sees all things including our hearts; He knows
if we are truly 'good and faithful servants' or not. Our job is to
keep our focus off of the troubles we encounter each day and to keep
our hearts and minds on Jesus and what He has brought us through.
When we think on these things we will spill out with the love of God,
the joy of our Salvation and the spirit of heaviness will truly be
lifted from us. No matter what we suffer, Christ has suffered more,
in fact I find it humbling when I am in pain and I realize that what
my God suffered for me has been so much more.
Sometimes
I wonder what God thinks He is doing with me; I am impatient in the
things of this world that I am placed with, in or beside; and I
wonder how long I will walk in the wilderness. I find myself asking
Him more and more lately “how long?” I have to laugh though, in
all humanness I have become the child on a long trip who inevitably
will ask her parent “Are we there yet?” I want to wait for the
event but the time comes and goes and the roads are so long and
boring at times that we want to know how long, how far, and how much
more we must endure in life in order to reach the point when we can
rejoice and be with Him in satisfactory contentment and joy. Just as
the child waiting to see the relatives or the land of delight; we too
are impatient for the days when we are with Him.
When
we are in good times, we don't really see the need to draw near, but
as you go into the Holiday season lets try to keep our eyes on Jesus
and the job He has given us; lets remember its not about being
selfish and not wanting to celebrate something using the excuses of
the world, that its too commercialized and that it's 'all about me';
lets make it all about Him no matter what they say. Let's achieve the
point of our existence while the shoppers re crying for more. Let's
remember that our lives are all about Jesus, sharing His love, giving
people hope in Him. Let's work on the job He has given us and share
His story with those around us while they have their eyes open. He
will open the doors for us to share, we just need to trust that He
will then open our mouths to speak and know that He is in control.
Dear
Heavenly Father, help us to share Your story this week. Open the
doors and open our mouths to bring forth the Words You would speak
through us. In Jesus' name, amen.
Suggested
reading: Psalm 50 1-23, Philippians 4:1-23, Mathew 28, Psalm 1:1-6
and 2 Corinthians 3:1-18