I JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT, YET.
I’ve been quite busy/ preoccupied as of late, that i feel like even phone calls have to be penciled into my schedule. And well, I guess blogging got booted off the list of Top 100 things for me to do.
But I’ve been thinking of all these things that I’d like to share, if I only had the time, ya know?
Most recently, I’ve been studying missionaries and how they chose to live their lives- The things they did, how they interacted with God, and with those around them.
I thought I knew why I was going to teach what I was going to teach the kids at my preschool and AWANA programs, but it turns out, God was just using a “Missionary Stories” theme to boost my desire and drive to openly share the gospel. Really, this last week (or a little more) has been a time of revelation from God, and a whole lot of “trust Me” too.
I’m a very scheduled, planned-in-advance, know-exactly-what’s-going-on type of person. I like to at least feel like I have a handle mentally on the next few steps in my life.
As I studied the missionaries and planned my lessons, I kept hearing a still small voice, beckoning my thoughts toward another idea. All of a sudden, everything around me reminded me of that idea. Whether it was reading a book, walking in the store, Bible Study, EVERYTHING made my thoughts turn toward that particular idea. So finally, the night before I was to teach my lesson at AWANA, I had a little faith.
I changed it.
I scrapped what I had planned and just started writing from what God had laid on my heart. Yeah, it scared me a little, but there was this peace, knowing that God was leading me to say something quite different than I planned.
What I shared was this:
The idea of how uniquely important every single believer is to the Kingdom of God. How when we give everything to God, He uses us. Not because He has to, but because He wants to.
I had been thinking about how interesting it was that some missionaries are extremely well known, “famous”, if you will, for listening to God’s call and following it. But I started to think of how discouraging their inspiring stories might be. You think I’m crazy, right? Well, I don’t think they’re outright discouraging, but for some people, maybe there are some subtle discouragements... Especially to children who feel far-off, separated from the stories. They think they can’t do as great things for the Kingdom of God as So-and-so did, because they didn’t hear God’s voice in the alley streets of England, or they haven’t been rescued from a life of heinous crime and sin, or they don’t have a head-turning talent that draws massive crowds. But THAT’S NOT TRUE!
The more I thought about the lives of these “great” believers, the more I realized the great need for the “invisible missionaries”. The people history may have forgotten, but God remembers.
After all, Someone had to lead George Muller to faith in Christ. Someone had to share the gospel with Lillian Trasher. Someone had to encourage... Beth Moore and John MacArthur, for crying out loud!
I’ve been compiling this blogpost for over a week now, and a few days ago, a friend mentioned the story of Spurgeon’s prayer warriors, that i just had to come back and add in! These prayer warriors were people who prayed in a room beneath his pulpit for the duration of his sermons. They lifted up his message, as well as praying for the congregation to receive the message he shared. All those background workers were not seen, but oh, their impact is unmistakeable! God truly used Spurgeon and his teachings to change lives, and still does to this day!
So God laid this on my heart: You must never believe that you are less important to the Kingdom of God than someone else. Because all of us have the ability to do marvelous things for the Lord! God uses us all for very different, but very important causes. He called some to be prophets, some to be teachers, some to be musicians, carpenters, chefs, or even prayer warriors stuffed in a back closet of a church. No matter how ordinary our job seems, if we give Him everything we’ve got- He WILL use it! The things He will do through us, WE. CAN'T. EVEN. FATHOM!
James, the brother of Jesus wrote a letter, “to the twelve tribes among the Dispersion”. Paul the Apostle, to the believers at Corinth, Ephesus, Colosse etc. I bet they had no idea that little miss ‘Betkany’, and millions of others would be studying and growing and learning to love God from the very words they penned... in 2011 AD!!!
So what can we do with this knowledge? Well, for me, it has rekindled the desire to put my whole heart into everything I do, not as unto men, but as unto the Lord. (Colossians 3:23), having faith that HE WILL USE IT! And I hope you just might be inspired too, knowing that whatever things you do for the Lord can affect generations to come.
I think the lesson went over fairly well at AWANA... and we made up a little cheer, composed of four main words, to help us remember how to give our every thing to God.
“Eyes, Knees, Hands & Feet”
Eyes: keep your eyes on Him, by keeping them in the Word. Learning what He wants you to know, discovering what He wants you to do. (Psalm 1, Blessed is the man... who delights in the law of the Lord, and meditates on it)
Knees- kneel before Him in prayer. Let Him know what you’re going through, how you’re thankful for Him being at work. Ask Him for help, wisdom, whatever! 1 Thess 5:17 encourages us to “pray without ceasing”, and Jesus says to ask for anything in His name, and He will do it (John 14:12-14; no that does NOT mean a lifetime supply of your favorite candy...)
Hands & Feet- serve! do what He’s asked you to do, go where He’s asked you to go. Don’t ignore His directions. Help a friend, share the message of Jesus, listen to someone, pray for them. (Is. 6:8 ‘Here am I, Lord. Send me!’) Do things for others that you would want them to do for you! (Matt 7:12)
Draw close to God. Give Him whatever you have (big or small), follow wherever He leads (here or there) and watch in amazement as He does things you never could have imagined!
(P.S. In this lifetime, we might not understand or see all the unfathomable things God will do through us, but don't let that stop you! I'm not gonna let it stop me.)
Have faith and live like it!
Have faith and live like it!
Betkany
