In All Things

I used to wonder if there was something wrong with me when people would say, “You can’t love Jesus without loving other people.” And I would think to myself, “Wanna bet?”

One thing I learned from the pastor I discipled under for years, who taught me things about ministry that you simply can’t learn from a book, is that people are messy. But God isn’t afraid to get His hands dirty and reach into their mess and pull them out. Our job is to surrender our own notions about what “ministry” should look like, and allow the Lord to work through us in whatever mess someone may be in, to be used by Him to show them the way out. My flesh resists that, as my reasoning screams, “It’s not my job to save someone!.. I can’t fix someone else’s mess!” And both of those things are true, but being used by the Lord comes down to the question: Do I trust God?

Do I trust the Lord to guide me into someone’s dungeon so I can help lead them out of it? Because people in a dungeon need a light. They need a torch bearer— not more lashings upon their back about why they ended up in that dungeon in the first place. So, I have to constantly ask myself, “Do I trust God? Do I reeeeally trust Him in all things?” And to be flat-out honest, my answer has been a heart-breaking “No,” more times than I care to admit. 

I would reason within myself that I DO, in fact, trust God— it’s just other people I don’t trust. Or myself I don’t trust. But trust in God “in all things” necessarily includes my trust that He is bigger than all our untrustworthiness. I have had to learn that our ability to love others the way we’re supposed to, involves learning how to invest our trust in the right person, which is God Himself, regardless of our own or anyone else’s stumbling. 

O Father, forgive me for my lack of trust in You. Guide us in Your truth and faithfulness and lead us, as we shine Your light into the darkest dungeons to set the prisoners free.  

(Psalm 40:1,2) I waited patiently for the LORD; He turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.

(Luke 4:17-18) …the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. Unrolling it, He found the place where it was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because He has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

(Rom 10:14,15) How then can they call on the One in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe in the One of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone to preach? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

(Matt 5:14,15) You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a basket. Instead, they set it on a stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.