Trusting when you are part of the "others."
After quite a respite, I am going to come back to my blog and seek to share some thoughts that are on my heart with you. I hope you will continue to find them challenging and encouraging.
When I last posted about taking a break, I mentioned some lessons that I was learning from the Lord that I wanted to eventually share with you. Honestly, some of the lessons are ones I have been working on for some time, and a few are ones I hadn't put much thought into.
The first, and the one that is on my mind most recently is addressed in the title of this post. I have been taught all my life (and taught others as well) that it is important for us to believe God for the impossible. "Trust God; He is more willing to give than you are to ask." "Ask God for something so big that when it happens, there will be no doubt that it was God that did it." As I sit here, I think of many phrases such as this that are great challenges. I still believe them. I believe that God is still the God of the impossible. I have no doubt that our faith is often too small to adequately honor the God we claim to serve. I have seen direct answers to my prayers that I cannot explain with any other word than "miracle," and I do not use that word lightly.
Of late, however, I have been challenged in my thinking regarding our attitude toward this whole matter of trusting God for something big and focusing our heart on it. Actually, it is those last few words that have haunted me.
Those of you that have been following my blog for several years, know that we sensed clearly that God would have us step down from our ministry of 9 years in southeastern Virginia just over a year ago now. As I look back on that, I remain convinced that it was what God wanted for us. The church has called a new pastor, and I anticipate that God will use the past couple of years to see the church move forward under his leadership...perhaps in a way that it hasn't before this.
When we stepped down, we had no idea where God would plant us next. We had several early "leads" but nothing panned out. To this day; we do not know where our next permanent, full-time ministry assignment will be. I went through a spell for some months wondering why, when I was so willing to step out and trust God like I did, that he didn't show us the next step right away. I fully anticipated that He would. Thus far; He has given me the opportunity to be preaching and assisting a church on a part-time basis, and I continue to work in the construction trade several days a week. In short; we are still in our wilderness.
Recently, I have come to the recognition that I was so focused on receiving my next ministry assignment from the Lord, that I had forgotten about one important aspect of faith. Faith is not rooted in what God will do. Faith is rooted in God Himself. I believe that God will put me back into a full-time pastorate. I believe that when He does, He will do it with no doubt either in our minds or in the minds of the people to whom he sends us. But if he doesn't, He is still God and I can still trust Him. The only way that it would mean my trust was misplaced would be if I was trusting in the answer rather than the one who has the answers.
This shouldn't be hard for me to figure out. Abraham did it...and waited decades for the fulfillment of God's promise of an heir. Joseph did it...while he sat for 2 years in a stinking prison. The 3 Hebrew boys did it when they looked at the king and said "our God is able to deliver us from your burning, fiery furnace...but if he doesn't, know that we will die trusting Him, not bowing to you. My mind is running from one Biblical example to another, remembering that faith in God and faith in the answer we expect are not to be identified with each other.
Isn't that the point of Hebrews 11? It lists all the people who had amazing faith stories. The kind we'd all like to be able to tell. Then comes verse 36 with the opening words "others suffered." The great hall of faith includes people who were tortured, mocked, flogged, stoned, sawn in two, killed, "went about destitute, afflicted, mistreated, wandered about in deserts and mountains and in dens and caves of the earth." Verse 39 sums it up. "And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised."
The walk of faith is not so neatly packaged as we would like. We step out, trusting the one who is our only hope. We wait on Him with open hands, seeking HIM, not seeking an answer.
Like I said; this is a lesson in progress. I'd be interested to know your experience in this area. How do you deal with the waiting room? How have you balanced faith in God for things big enough to honor His great name without getting so focused on the answer that you lose sight of the one who gives it?
When I last posted about taking a break, I mentioned some lessons that I was learning from the Lord that I wanted to eventually share with you. Honestly, some of the lessons are ones I have been working on for some time, and a few are ones I hadn't put much thought into.
The first, and the one that is on my mind most recently is addressed in the title of this post. I have been taught all my life (and taught others as well) that it is important for us to believe God for the impossible. "Trust God; He is more willing to give than you are to ask." "Ask God for something so big that when it happens, there will be no doubt that it was God that did it." As I sit here, I think of many phrases such as this that are great challenges. I still believe them. I believe that God is still the God of the impossible. I have no doubt that our faith is often too small to adequately honor the God we claim to serve. I have seen direct answers to my prayers that I cannot explain with any other word than "miracle," and I do not use that word lightly.
Of late, however, I have been challenged in my thinking regarding our attitude toward this whole matter of trusting God for something big and focusing our heart on it. Actually, it is those last few words that have haunted me.
Those of you that have been following my blog for several years, know that we sensed clearly that God would have us step down from our ministry of 9 years in southeastern Virginia just over a year ago now. As I look back on that, I remain convinced that it was what God wanted for us. The church has called a new pastor, and I anticipate that God will use the past couple of years to see the church move forward under his leadership...perhaps in a way that it hasn't before this.
When we stepped down, we had no idea where God would plant us next. We had several early "leads" but nothing panned out. To this day; we do not know where our next permanent, full-time ministry assignment will be. I went through a spell for some months wondering why, when I was so willing to step out and trust God like I did, that he didn't show us the next step right away. I fully anticipated that He would. Thus far; He has given me the opportunity to be preaching and assisting a church on a part-time basis, and I continue to work in the construction trade several days a week. In short; we are still in our wilderness.
Recently, I have come to the recognition that I was so focused on receiving my next ministry assignment from the Lord, that I had forgotten about one important aspect of faith. Faith is not rooted in what God will do. Faith is rooted in God Himself. I believe that God will put me back into a full-time pastorate. I believe that when He does, He will do it with no doubt either in our minds or in the minds of the people to whom he sends us. But if he doesn't, He is still God and I can still trust Him. The only way that it would mean my trust was misplaced would be if I was trusting in the answer rather than the one who has the answers.
This shouldn't be hard for me to figure out. Abraham did it...and waited decades for the fulfillment of God's promise of an heir. Joseph did it...while he sat for 2 years in a stinking prison. The 3 Hebrew boys did it when they looked at the king and said "our God is able to deliver us from your burning, fiery furnace...but if he doesn't, know that we will die trusting Him, not bowing to you. My mind is running from one Biblical example to another, remembering that faith in God and faith in the answer we expect are not to be identified with each other.
Isn't that the point of Hebrews 11? It lists all the people who had amazing faith stories. The kind we'd all like to be able to tell. Then comes verse 36 with the opening words "others suffered." The great hall of faith includes people who were tortured, mocked, flogged, stoned, sawn in two, killed, "went about destitute, afflicted, mistreated, wandered about in deserts and mountains and in dens and caves of the earth." Verse 39 sums it up. "And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised."
The walk of faith is not so neatly packaged as we would like. We step out, trusting the one who is our only hope. We wait on Him with open hands, seeking HIM, not seeking an answer.
Like I said; this is a lesson in progress. I'd be interested to know your experience in this area. How do you deal with the waiting room? How have you balanced faith in God for things big enough to honor His great name without getting so focused on the answer that you lose sight of the one who gives it?
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