God is looking for individuals who have a passionate desire, a firm conviction, and an unshakable commitment to His Kingdom. But how many of us can actually say we live this kind of life all the time? I know I can’t! Amongst the busyness of church life and work life and family life and social life, how do we maintain a focus of His Kingdom across the entirety of our world?
Have you ever had the realization, perhaps after months and months of hard work that not everything is going according to plan but you just can’t pick what it is? Perhaps in your church ministry, you made all the improvements, you played extra videos, you brought in bigger speakers or had better structures… you did everything you could and even though you saw some growth, something just didn’t seem quite right?
Its very easy to get carried away in life with doing all the right things; and because they are the right things it can naturally be very difficult to know what exactly it is that doesn’t seem to be working. Its that elusive feeling on the inside that although you’re working really hard, perhaps there’s a lack of certainty about the effect of all your endeavors. Have you ever felt like all your hard running in life may as well have been on a treadmill?
Regardless of whether you feel this way right at this point in time, I’m sure we all experience it. You see too often we are focusing on getting it “right” according to our own standard, or someone else’s, and yet we are a long way off from what God desires for our lives.
Are we turning up to battle with just our bear hands? The problem is not turning up with only our bear hands (the truth is, in fact, that our bear hands are quite enough); it is actually whether or not we are firstly and securely held in His hands.
All the tools and methods and strategies in the world can be great, but unless they are carried by a vessel that is consumed in loving relationship with the Creator of the universe, what good are they really?
God challenged me recently on this; to be honest He challenges me on it every day! Sometimes it’s not so much about doing the right things, but about doing them for the right reasons.
Are we striving out of our own strength to achieve Heavenly goals? Are we motivated by a desire to extend His Kingdom for our own satisfaction, or the applause of a few mortals?
Over the next few weeks, I want to challenge us all to join a revolution. Many people talk about a revolution. Few actually start one. Even fewer ever succeed. Change is always harder to effect than it sounds.
That’s why God has been challenging me that I need a GENUINE revolution.
I want to be able to look back and say, not just that I’ve come a long way, but that I’ve made leaps and bounds that were beyond my natural ability. That the fruit of my life is much greater than the sum total of my efforts. That the dreams that God birthed in my heart when He first called me are now being realized.
Is that the kind of life you want to live? There is a life available for you to live that goes beyond the tasks and the duty (although they definitely have their place). What could your life, what could the Church in our affluent society be like, if we all embraced a genuine revolution?
Sometimes it’s not so much about doing the right things, but about doing them for the right reasons.
