For years, I’ve told the fishing story of a man who with disdain chided us for wasting time fishing next door to his home. He went so far as to build a wire fence into the water parallel to his property line to make sure that those of us fishing on public property next to his could not catch fish from the water on his side of the property line. One evening, he came out to go fishing and decided to offer us some condescending advise. “There are no fish where you’re fishing. They are on the other side of the lake.” After offering that news bulletin, he proceeded to race off in his shiny maroon with silver glitter fishing boat to the other side creating disturbing waves in his wake.
Hours later with the sun set, the moon shining and the mosquitoes biting, he returned not racing but barely putt-putting back to his dock. Quite silently and offering no conversation, he began unloading his gear. We, curious to learn of his success, hollered out: “How did you do?” He with a bit of chagrin, whispered back: “Aaawh, they just weren’t biting tonight.” Respectfully, we waited until he walked into his home and then broke out into raucous laughter. You see the place where we were fishing-that place he’d declared to be barren of fish, had yielded for us so many fish that each one of our buckets were full to the brim with crappies and bull-heads. That true story needs no further commentary. It, on its own, clearly implies the moral of the story. So why, you might ask, am I still typing more words?
Glad you asked. It is because, I had occasion to enjoy that moral this evening. You see since having moved to Houston, Mama and I have been on a quest to find a very good oriental restaurant. We’ve spend lots of time, gasoline and money in this quest. For some reason, tonight I decided to have us try the Swen Chinese Cafe that is literally across the street from where we live. Let me confess that I got angry right after I ate the Won-Ton soup. It turns out that this restaurant, right across the street, serves authentic Chinese fare that is absolutely delicious; the best in town I might add. I could have been enjoying great food and saving lots of money and gas, if only I’d remembered my own story. The moral of this postscript may not be so obvious; so here it is: When preaching to others, take care to believe and implement the tenets of your own message. I hope this helps.
Much credence is given to the power of the spoken word. We are perpetually reminded that there is power in the tongue; be careful what you say, etc. These observations have given rise to the popularity of positive confessions. But have you ever considered the power of meditations?
There is no question that God monitors what you say, but he also takes note of what you think. I suspect that those private musings are equally important to God. One the one hand, what we say is often tempered by our need to be accepted by others. We generally are politically correct or we’re at least politically sensitive and socially responsible.
Our private musings, on the other hand, are not so restrained. I wonder what our reputation would be if the public had access to our private musings? Now, I freely admit that it is impossible to keep out thoughts from our minds try though we would. It is why I used the term musings. I’m focusing on those meditations that go on for a while swimming around in your mind. We all have them. I know I do; I confess. These thoughts grow beards, earn tenure and are granted residency status. We own them.
The problem is harbored thoughts are quite powerful in shaping our behavior. It is why the Bible warns us against being cozy with people having an evil eye. The text is Proverbs 23:6 – Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats: 7For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.
Of course, the key issues in the text are that whoever the evil eyed one is, he says one thing, but means another. The text assures us that it is his thought life that reveals who and what he really is. So here’s the question, what does your meditating thought life reveal about you? And if God were to judge you on the basis of what you think, how would that work for you? Maybe the answer is why the psalmist David offered this prayer in Psalms 19:14 – Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer. Just for good measure read the entire psalm. I hope this helps.
I received the following message after I posted my blog thoughts entitled – Keep Your Friends. “Can you talk about expectations of friendships. I feel like my friends should be there for me as much as I am for them. I’m really having a hard time forgiving my friend for not being there when I really needed her the most. I quickly went into thinking about all of the things I did for her, even when I didn’t want to, because I knew it was important to her. What’s wrong with my thinking? She says we should have developed boundaries. That’s new for me.”
I appreciate the opportunity to comment on these questions and the sincerity I detect in them. It is important to state that brief questions don’t provide enough information to allow for an accurate response to this specific situation. Nevertheless the general issues will allow us to offer comments.
I am convinced now more than ever that we live in a culture that harbors unrealistic expectations. We view other people and their actions based upon what we would do in a situation and what we expect them to do. There are two fundamental problems I see with this – all people are different and different people have different capacities and developments.
Too often we assume that people know things that in reality they don’t know especially if no one told them anything. Some people aren’t bothered by or sensitive to things that others feel are deal-breaking, earth-shaking issues. Personalities are different too. Some are hot-tempered (aka passionate) while others are even-tempered (aka laid back and disinterested). These personality traits dictate how they will react to situations.
Clearly there are some basic components required of any relationship that will be labeled “friends.” Things like being nice, interesting and interested in the other person, having shared interests and most importantly being socially compatible. Beyond that all other expectations may run the risk of asking too much of a friend relationship. Understand that different people can be different kinds of friends to and for us. This is true and at the same time they are legitimate friends.
I have friends with whom I enjoy great fellowship. We have fun when we’re together; we celebrate each other’s accomplishments, etc. But some of my friends I know up front are not the ones that I could share my troubling thoughts with. Others are great friends, but we can’t travel together because they cannot tolerate our differing styles. I even have friends that I cannot bring together with other of my friends because they are not compatible.
Having said that know that all of my friends are really friends. Wisdom says that I must know them for whom they are, except that fact and act accordingly. This answer is getting a little long in the tooth. I’ll share some more tomorrow. I hope this helps.
Good friendships and effective working relationships are too precious to risk losing all because of poor communication. Unfortunately, we live in a world where so many people wear their feelings on their shoulders, and they are quick to jump to conclusions. They are easily offended and are resolved and committed to never letting anyone ever hurt them again. Many of those people decided that if anyone ever offends them, hurts them or misrepresents them they would end the relationship cold turkey without any possibility of reconciliation or forgiveness.
So you have a good but fragile relationship and to that soup you add the spice of poor communications- the result, in many cases, of people not understanding words on the one hand, and using the wrong method of communication on the other hand.
The real problem is that good friends and positive working relationships are not always that easy to find or foster. Its best to do all you can to keep them when you have them.
Here are some tips. Slow down and really evaluate what you say and how you say it. A fairly hard skill for me to develop I must admit. Choose the appropriate communication vehicle. Sometimes a phone call is better than an email. Written communications carry a different tone than does verbal exchanges.
Think positive and resist having and affair with negativity. If you know you have a good friend or working relationship, remember how they are generally. Give them the benefit of the doubt even when you’re suspicious of being under attack. Finally, I doubt seriously that if you poured Kool-Aid on your dollar bills or spilled a pile of dirt on your fine clothes that you would throw them away because they were messed up. Oh no, the money is too precious and the clothes too costly to just discard them. You’d clean them up and go right on using them.
In the same way, assign the appropriate value to your friends and working relationships. Even if they seem to be soiled, don’t throw them away. Do what it takes to fix the problem. Who they are to you is much more important than what they might have done- notice I said might.
Now remember that while you’re trying to decide if this is good advise or not as you think about those that might be on the edge with you, know that someone else is reading this and thinking about you too. I hope this helps.
Even My Trouble is Blessed!
One of my favorite Bible verses is I Corinthians 10:13. In fact, it was the text I used for the very first sermon I preached. It reads: “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” It came back to my mind after prayer this morning. Yesterday, I’d heard from a most dear friend. He usually never shares any of his struggles. I’ve always known him to be a huge pillar of faith. Yet, yesterday, he shared some of his issues. What really got me however, was the sound of his voice. I could hear in it his pain and concern. Life, even a life of faith, is so interesting. I was about to share with him my disappointments and frustrations. But I couldn’t because he had so many of his own.
So, I decided to pray for him and about me. I was doing a good job laying out for God what our problems were and what solutions I hoped he would provide for us. Right then, though, I started praising God for the blessings he’d already sent to us. For a moment it seemed like I was an eavesdropper on my own prayer. I heard myself talking about people whose situations were far more desperate than my own. I heard myself say that I wasn’t a paraplegic or quadriplegic. I wasn’t forced to walk for miles in a barren desert scratching through dust trying to harvest mere grains of rice for my meal. My body wasn’t racked with the pain of an incurable disease. All of a sudden I realized that even my trouble was blessed! God is so good to me (and you too) that even when he allows me to suffer and experience disappointment and allow my plans to abort, I’m still blessed.
The troubles he’s allowed me to endure are not of the same intensity as those of other people. I know I’m no different than they, and I don’t deserve better than they do. What is true is that I live under the umbrella of God’s favor even in my valley experiences. Therefore, my lips shall praise him while I have any being. I will trust in the Lord, live so my life will bring him glory and wait until my change comes. You should too. I hope this helps.
Change Your Conversation
The other day, while preparing for a spiritual assignment, I did a search in my Logos 4 Bible program for the words “wonderous works.” A good list appeared with life affirming nuggets of truth about the great work of God. I had to pause and praise God for the shower of Word blessings I was receiving. So refreshing it was reading various renditions of God’s kindness to us. Here’s just one example: “Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.” Psalms 40:5
Almost at the same time, my eyes drifted onto another window on my computer displaying a Facebook post. There a tawdry Christian was trumpeting the troubles of Bishop Eddie Long and others and bashing them because of those troubles. What caught my attention was how much pleasure they seemed to derive from the exercise of their right to “tell off on the devil” or so they called it.
I paused and took note realizing that I was so very tired of the level of hating going on. They seem to be consumed with chasing after stories of failures, and sinful practices and the disappointments of those they used to hold in esteem. They justified the practice with the claim of standing up for righteousness, but the truth is they’re just displaying a different variety of sin – backbiting, gossip, etc.
Their language is atrocious and foul; their attitude is presumptuous, judgmental and mean-spirited. Presumptuous because the way they denounce others probably indicates that they have unrepented sin in their own lives that they are ignoring; judgmental but not realizing that being so proves that they know better and therefore makes a strong case for them not receiving mercy from God for their own sin; and most of all mean-spirited for forgetting that the real enemy of us all is the devil who may in fact have deceived the ones they condemn and at the same time is deceiving them the ones doing the condemning.
Ok, we know that whosoever does wrong shall receive for the wrong they have done and God is no respecter of persons. We know that God is not mocked and that whatsoever a person sows they shall also reap. But really, is the best that we as Christians can do is to celebrate and revel in the failures of our fellow citizens of the Kingdom? When at the same time knowing that but for the grace of God we would be in the same predicament? I think not. And by the way, didn’t Romans 5:20 remind us that where sin abounded, grace abounded more?
Here’s my point. Facebook and other social media offers us an unprecedented opportunity to affect and influence the lives of our friends but also countless numbers of people we’ve never met. Why are so many “Sunday go to meetin’” Christians using that opportunity to show us their half naked bodies, show us how carnal they can be and still be saved, curse like demons and beat down and condemn people?
This is not the Bible way! The Bible advises us to “Mark the perfect man.” Psalms 37:37. It would be alluring to do an exposition on the verse, but let’s cut to the chase. The perfect man is Jesus – not Bishop Eddie Long, or me or any of you – its Jesus. And Jesus said, If I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. Here’s a novel thought: gossip about Jesus – tell everything you know about him. See what that does for your reputation.
Opps, let me get back to what the Bible says. Finally, (as in when its all said and done) brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Often the transformation from depression and despair to assurance and vitality is accomplished simply by changing what it is you think about.
I’ve got to quit, I know. But really saints, we’re in one of the most precarious economic times of our lives. People are losing jobs, homes, friends, status and hope. Churches are struggling, our government is clueless and there is an increasing sense of desperation in the air. People are looking for an answer. The crazy part is the answer has been here all along. We must change our conversation; we must change what it is we talk about. Talk about Jesus; tell of his goodness – give somebody the real “Good News.” Talk about the Gospel!
We’ve been so busy trying to find alternatives to using the Bible to tell people about Jesus that we’ve messed it all up. We don’t need an alternative way of sharing the good news. Just share the good news of the gospel both by your words and lifestyle. Be a living letter read and known of all men. The Word still works! He will give life, joy, peace and happiness to all those that receive him. Lift Jesus up and watch him work miracles. Do it, and we all will be better for it. I hope this helps.
Matthew14:25-30 And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. 26And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. 27But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. 28And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. 29And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. 30But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. 31And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? 32And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased. 33Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.
And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand...
I was blessed today by this passage in Matthew. I know it is quite familiar to us all, but there are some insights hidden in its familiarity that blessed me, and I hope it blesses you as well.
The text states in verse 25 that Jesus went unto them in the fourth watch of the night. The Romans, occupiers of Israel during Jesus’ ministry time, divided the night into four watches each one lasting three hours. This is significant. The disciples had been working to fulfill their assignment given to them by Jesus at the first watch: get into the ship and go before him to the other side.
The problem is that for three watches, at least nine hours, they made no significant progress. Imagine the emotional ups and downs they experienced during those watches. The first watch was no doubt filled with excitement and expectation. Jesus sent them on a mission. They anticipated what was waiting for them on the other side. Ministry is exciting!!!
The second watch brought in cold reality. Ministry isn’t convenient, or fun anymore. This is hard work. What’s worse is that we’re doing what God told us to do but we’re not getting anywhere. The third watch was even worse; its hours 7 through 9 and still no significant progress. Mind you the disciples are doing this rowing to get to the other side after having spent a full day on their jobs and then attending Bible Class with Jesus. Even during the first watch they weren’t fresh.
I’m sure that they are now questioning the legitimacy of their assignment. Did we really hear Jesus? We must be doing something wrong? Is there sin in our lives and because of it maybe we’re being punished? So many conflicting ideas must have been running through their heads. But, being the stalwart troopers that they were, they persisted in working towards their goal.
But now it’s the fourth watch. They are exhausted, utterly frustrated and certain that they’ve been given an assignment that will not come to pass. They are so low emotionally. Maybe they even have started to turn on each other. Peter, Andrew’s brother, may even have gotten angry; because if Andrew hadn’t introduced him to Jesus, he would probably be home in bed at that precise moment.
Jesus decides to show up in the fourth hour. It is the darkest time of the night when all hope seemed gone and their resources pretty much totally depleted. I love this next observation. When Jesus appeared in their situation, instead of greeting him with exuberant welcome, they were troubled, thought him a ghost and started screaming bloody murder. They were so scared!
Oh, but Jesus knew just what to say: “Be of good cheer, it is I; be not afraid. Family, we must hear these words of Jesus. Cheer up, Jesus is here and we must not be afraid. I’m certain that you think that my last sentence should have ended this presentation, but no. There’s more. Let’s call it bonus material.
For Peter’s reaction to these life-sustaining words of hope, was to ask a question. Lord if it’s you bid me come. Isn’t that something? Jesus had just said, “It is I.” So why is Peter asking Jesus is it you? Oh but there is comfort in his query. For how many times have we still asked ourselves “Did God really want us do this? Did we really hear the voice of God?” Then we whip ourselves for doubting. But don’t be too hard on yourselves. Even Peter asked questions against the backdrop of deliberate and unambiguous reassuring statements from Jesus.
Jesus, ever so patient, doesn’t entertain Peter’s doubt, but responds to his request by saying “Come.” And Peter came. Praise God right? Well… Peter does come and enjoys a bone fide miracle. He walks on water. But even then, he’s challenged. Looking around at his surroundings, fear grips his heart again so much so that he forgets the power of the miracle he’s right now enjoying. Again, Jesus knows what to do. Jesus responds to the cry of Peter, whose doubt, triggered by having refamiliarized himself with his surroundings, had demoted him from a miracle back to a mess. Jesus immediately by reached out his hand and caught Peter.
Ok, family, I know I’ve got to end this, but it has been so good to me. Let me say you’re not on the wrong path and you’re not outside of the will of God. Let us not be weary in well doing. Reaping time is coming. You’re about to walk on water in the fourth watch of our journey. And even then, if your faith gets weak, Jesus will be there to reach out and grab you. I hope this helps.
Recently on Facebook a lady posted her victory report of how she overcame the rebukes she received after announcing her unwed pregnancy 18 years earlier. She began by complaining about how people ostracized her for being with child but not with a husband. Her overall presentation was one of justifying her lifestyle. In her mind, the people that chastened her for getting pregnant before marriage and all those who ridiculed her were wrong and out of order for having done so.
She used as her defense Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. In essence she implies that her pregnancy was in God’s plans and designs for her life. Therefore, the fact that she conceived outside of marriage was a good thing. She felt that instead of people spanking her they should have recognized the plan of God in her life.
I was intrigued by her convoluted rationale. She, like countless others in today’s world, are dedicated to the effort of making wrong seem right. While justifying bad behavior is not new, there is an alarming new twist to that strategy- use Bible verses to prove that God not only allows the behavior but approves it as well.
Sadly, all this proves is how little people know about God and worse how little they fear him. What the Bible is clear on is that having sex before marriage is sin in the eyes of God. There is no justification for the action at all. The Bible reveals that God’s attitude about sin is one of anger and not benevolent approval. Psalms 7:11 teaches that God is angry with the wicked every day.
For all those who recoil whenever the judgment side of God is presented and insist on invoking the fact that God is love, let me say yes. God is love and it is the fact that he loves/loved us that prompted him to offer salvation through Jesus Christ. That salvation, however, reveals both sides of God – his profound love of sinners, and his intense disgust with sin. There is no question about the quality of his love of Jesus, his son.
That love not withstanding, God lays on him the iniquity of us all. It takes but a momentary glimpse of Jesus on the cross to understand the quality of God’s anger with sin. The hideous physical punishment Jesus endures coupled with the sense of His father’s forsaking him because he carried our sins to his cross is almost too painful to watch. So then, to suggest that God allows or worse approves of and even included in his plans the sin we commit is, frankly, an insult to the holiness of God.
Does Jeremiah 29:11 license us to justify our sin as being a part of God’s plan for our lives? Let the apostle Paul answer for us: “God forbid!” The Bible teaches clearly in James 1:14 that God cannot be tempted of evil neither does he tempt any person. But every person is tempted when they are drawn away by their own lusts and enticed. In fact, the passage specifically warns us by saying in essence “don’t put God in this.” Let no man say when he is tempted…
I suppose that had the sister and all the others that appeal to Jeremiah 29:11 for justification taken the time to read the passage in context, they most certainly would have looked elsewhere for an endorsement. The passage is dealing with Israel in captivity because of her rebellion against God. Make no mistake about it, Jeremiah 29:11 is a message of hope, but it is so with conditions. The setting of the passage is God warning the children of Israel to stop believing their own dreams and the false prophets that offered them false hope.
The children of Israel in Jeremiah 29 are in captivity. Their captivity is in fact God’s rebuke of their rebellious behavior. They started having dreams that seemed so real. These dreams had them believing that they would not have to endure the full punishment sentence of 70 years of captivity inflicted on them by God. The false prophets bolstered their deception by offering a variety of their own. They did the “yea, I say unto you…” shtick and told the people that their captivity would soon end.
All of them failed to remember that God would not alter the things that had come out of his mouth. Yes God does send Jeremiah to the captives, and yes the word he sends is a word of hope. However, it is a word of hope with an expectation of changed behavior. Stop believing false prophets and your dreams that have convinced you that you will be successful in circumventing God’s decision.
It is after you have gone through the full course of punishment, that course being held in captivity for 70 years, that I will bring you back to the place where you belong- your expected end.
If I could talk to the sister, I’d tell her that the way of the transgressor is hard. Complaining about people not celebrating your sin is pointless. God really does love you. Be saved and in doing so, you’ll get God, his Word and his Spirit to come and help you. You do have an expected end, as do we all. Be wise as you seek to appropriate the promise into your life. Be careful to stop twisting the scriptures to your own destruction. See 2 Peter 3:16. By the way, verse 17 is awesome too. And, finally, when the love of God comes to your door, follow the advice that Jesus will most certainly give: “Go and sin no more.” I hope this helps.
TFTD – Psalms 77 7 Will the Lord cast off for ever? and will he be favourable no more? 8 Is his mercy clean gone for ever? doth his promise fail for evermoreb? 9 Hath God forgotten to be gracious? hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? Selah.
Walking with God by faith is an adventure to be sure. Unfortunately, there is too much faith-hype teaching in our culture today. Well-meaning but ill informed people teach it and many believers are frustrated because their experience doesn’t match what they were promised. Real Bible faith has its challenges as well.
If you’re like me, knowing already what to expect in your future is the way you want to live. However, God seems to delight in keeping that information from us. The resulting anxiety is what the psalmist talks about in Psalm 77. There he informs God of his concern using rhetorical questions. We like him infer, from being connected to God via salvation, that our problems are going to go away. When we face situations, we’re certain that our calling on the name of the Lord will favorably resolve those issues. So when the Psalmist’s problems persisted, he started asking pointed and direct questions. “Is this going to last forever???” Have I lost God’s favor??? Ok, if favor is out, what about mercy?? Isn’t mercy unmerited and therefore available to me in spite of what I’ve done or not done?? If not mercy what about grace? Have the rules for receiving grace changed too?
I can’t speak for anyone else, but for me I struggle with keeping a positive attitude even after I see God work in my life. The assurance produced by past victories seem to fade away when new challenges arrive with luggage as if they were moving in to stay. Usually my battles are most intense when I first go to bed. When I turn off the TV and my wife is already asleep, when the room is quiet, then my mind bursts out with thoughts. What’s going to happen? How will I survive? I have to purposefully work to drown those thoughts with praise or an out loud pronounced statement to myself – “I will not worry about this right now!”
Then, when I wake up, those same thoughts report in for work. They seem interested in me when they ask me if I’d had a good night’s rest. My faith challenging thoughts assure me I’m going to need that rest ‘cause they are ready to menace my peace again.
So I thought today’s TFTD verses were so appropriate. I’m encouraged because reading David’s thoughts, knowing that he lived thousands of years ago, helps me realize that my struggles are not unique. But better than that assurance is finding out how David overcame his faith challenges. His remedy? Force yourself to remember the goodness and power of God. Ooh, I want to paste those verses here for your edification. Instead, though let me have you read them for yourself. Verses 10b – 13.
Let me conclude by reminding you that it is impossible for trouble to last or for it to defeat you. How can I say that, and how can you trust that it is true? Because it is also impossible for God to lie! God said, he would be with you, that he neither slumbers nor sleeps, and most of all that what he begun in you He shall perform. Have faith in God. I hope this helps.
Judges 8:34 And the children of Israel remembered not the LORD their God, who had delivered them out of the hands of all their enemies on every side: 35Neither showed they kindness to the house of Jerubbaal, namely, Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had showed unto Israel.
In yesterday’s TFTD (thought for the day), we explored Gideon’s triumph over his exhaustion. He finished his mission and in so doing blessed even the ones he had to leave behind. I thought I was finished with that passage. However, this morning, I was compelled to revisit the story by the Holy Spirit. It seems Gideon’s story has more to teach us. At the end of his mission, when the enemies were subdued; when peace was restored to Israel including the ones that challenged the validity of Gideon’s ministry, Gideon and his family never got to enjoy the kindness of a grateful people nor the rewards of doing a good job.
Since God changed my assignment to that of a spiritual Life Coach last year, I’ve received so many comments from Pastors and leaders all across this country that are exhausted and bewildered because they feel under-appreciated if at all. The luster of the role of pastor has long since faded. The ones they help the most, it seems, are the ones that cause them the most grief. This, I find, is true regardless of the size of the congregation or the seeming success of the church. There is a hidden pain that leaders are enduring in these last and apparently evil days. Their cry is how do I handle this vision-killing attack?
The answer may surprise you. The ones you serve are not the ones charged with the responsibility of validating your ministry, energizing your efforts or applauding your accomplishments. You serve people, but you work for God. Should the people you serve bless and honor you, receive it and be blessed. However, you should view such a response as icing on the cake of God’s approval. Then too, it is good to remember that, technically, deliverance flowed through you but was not because of you. It was God at work in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. God allows us to receive credit for what in fact is His work.
Admittedly, I too fell victim to expecting people to approve me. Its only natural to do so. There are two things to consider in the midst of your service. 1. People (actually that one word says it all. …Well ok, here’s the rest) are too heavily involved in their problems to do a good job of appreciating their prophet. Remember Jesus healed 10 people with otherwise incurable diseases, who by the way, approached Jesus first, to ask for help. All ten were healed and left his presence without saying thank you. It’s just that one felt badly about doing so and returned to say thanks. Notice Jesus’ reaction. He doesn’t say, “you’re welcome.” He wonders were there not 10 cleansed; where are the nine? To add insult to injury, the thankful one was the stranger in the bunch. He wasn’t even a member, just a needy visitor.
The wildlife conservationist, seeing a tiger whose paw is caught and mangled in a hideous trap, knows up front that liberating the cat will not result in him having a huge new house pet! His or her joy comes in knowing that this endangered species has been saved and the ecological balance preserved. James reminds us that “he that converts a sinner from the error of his ways, shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.”
2. Even when the people do their best, they will never be able to bless you like God can, for whom you truly work! Jesus warned us about seeking notoriety for spiritual work. He observes that should you find such notoriety, it will be your reward. I cannot imagine that the applause of men is better than the reward of God. Apostle Paul shares this thought with us in 1 Corinthians 2:9 9But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. Paul speculates that the God, who created the worlds with such splendor as to produce awe and wonder in us when we see it, has prepared for those that love him a reward so impressive that the wildest, most out of the box image we can muster, does almost nothing to prepare us for what it will be like. And, we get to reign with Him too? What a deal!
In conclusion, keep your eyes on the prize; look to the hills from which cometh your help, your blessing, your reward and eternal life. You will not be disappointed.
