Jesus gets me out of my tizzy . . .

Last night I went to sleep thinking of Mary and Martha. Both were friends of Jesus and both eagerly showed hospitality to Him and His disciples. When Martha was making lunch, Mary was sitting at the feet of Jesus listening to what He said. Martha was anxious about lunch and irritated with her sister but when she told Jesus to rebuke her, she was lovingly told that Mary choose the best thing. Serving Him was okay but being in a tizzy about it was not.

This week, after discussing and praying for a need expressed by others, I was in a tizzy. I felt pressured to do something about that need and came home wound up and upset. Jesus bid me to pray and as I did, His Spirit and His Word made clear to me that my role right now is to be more like Mary. Others can do the work that will fill that need. My assignment and work right now is to pray. Immediately the tizzy whirled away as assurance filled my heart.

Yesterday and this morning’s readings confirm that I’m not to be anxious that I must meet that need but instead to pray. These verses give instructions for the direction of my prayers:

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:9–14)

Unceasing: Don’t quit. As God puts this need and others and the names of people on my heart, I am to pray about the needs and for the people. Listen for His leading as I pray.

Filled: Pray that people will know His will with wisdom and understanding. Sometimes we do the will of God without realizing it. This prayer is that we know what it is and are actively and wisely engaged. This prayer is for me too. I could pray, “God bless the missionaries” but God would rather I pray, “Lord, give grace to  . . . as he handles this tough decision . . . .” and “Jesus,  . . . is having a problem with the authorities in  . . . grant her wisdom as she meets with them today.” The Holy Spirit gives specifics when I’m yielded to Him.

Reason: My prayers are requests that His people please God in the way we live. He wants us to be fruitful (think love, joy, peace, etc.as well as our actions) and actively involved in things that will last for eternity, and things that help us know Him better. Actions are useless without the right attitudes motivating them.

Power: I’m to pray for power, not the power normally associated with success but the power that is like the power of God. This is about enduring under pressure, being patient in tough situations yet at the same time joyful. This is power that rises above human ability and points to the God who gives us above and beyond what we expect.

Thankful: I’m also to pray that all of us who serve the Lord know where our goodness comes from and know what we are doing and why — and out of this we are full of gratitude for the privilege of being His children. We didn’t earn any of what He gives us which means no pride, no sense of being ‘better’ than others, only humble gratitude that is always and fully aware that He delivered us. It was nothing we did to earn this amazing redemption and forgiveness and it is in that attitude that I must pray with the request that all of us walk with Jesus showing the wonder of His love and how it changes lives.

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Lord God, as I think about this example of how to pray and compare it to the other activities that yank at my heart saying ‘do this’ or ‘look at this need’ or ‘you could help with this’ or even ‘you could change the world if you did this’ I realize that You are not calling me with words like that. Others might be asked to serve You in those ways, but You are clear on this: prayer is my calling. Grant me the grace to pray without ceasing and remember the key things that need to be on my prayer list.

Today’s thankful list . . .

Hot baths.

Cool breezes.

Enough time each day for the day’s demands.

Good neighbors.

Tomatoes off the vine and warmed by the sun.

Homemade bread.

Summer’s bountiful fresh vegetables.

God’s goal for me . . .

When Paul became a Christian, God gave him a mission for life — take the Gospel to the world. This grand goal is for all Christians yet Paul’s mission was a specific call. He knew his purpose and spent his life fulfilling it.

I’ve not had that same sense of call, at least not for the ‘doing’ part of living. I’ve not sensed a call for a career or a specific goal like doctor, lawyer, or missionary either. Perhaps one reason is that God knows me — if I am given an assignment, I focus on it like a bulldog with a bone. I also tend to jump in without prayerful preparation.

Today I noticed that Paul wasn’t the first person to know God’s plan for his life. God spoke to Ananias while Paul was still blinded by the light of the risen Christ. He told Ananias to go to a certain house where “a man named Saul” waited for him to come and have his sight restored.

Ananias was worried. He said, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.”

But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.” (Acts 9:13–15)

Ananias obeyed. Saul was baptized, regained his sight and soon had a name-change. He spent time with the disciples and much to their amazement, preached the gospel. Many listened, but there was a stirring of resistance. Soon the Jews were persecuting the Christians as Paul had once done. He and others moved to Antioch . . .

Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off. (Acts 13:1–3)

These men were fulfilling Paul’s mission which the Lord first told to Ananias. On this first missionary journey and during the next two journeys, Paul preached first to the Jews of the region, then to the Gentiles. He was sometimes in Jewish synagogues, or before city leaders, or in prison. He used the Old Testament or found ways to point his listeners to God their Creator who loved them and sent Jesus to save them. But eventually Jewish resistance increased:

The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him. And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’” And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region. (Acts 13:44–49)

Jesus told them they would be witnesses in Jerusalem, then Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8) and this prophecy was coming true. Eventually Paul would say, “For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything.” (1 Thessalonians 1:8) Paul fulfilled God’s goal for him.

My walk with God has been more of a step-by-step process, a ‘do the next thing’ rather than a life-long mission, yet He did give me a life-goal. It is found in Romans 8:28-29 where He says He will use all things to transform me into the image of His Son. These words were written on my heart right after I was saved, a goal so lofty that there is no way I could jump in and simply run with it. Yet being like Jesus cannot happen without prayer, obedience and time. He uses the events of life as tools to shape me and I need to pay attention.

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Jesus, I don’t know what was written on Paul’s tomb. I can imagine it had something to do with his life mission and that You were pleased to use him in such a grand way. The Word of God spelled out Your plan and he followed the directions You gave him. I don’t know what will be written on my tomb, but I’m thinking “Step-by-Step” would be okay or maybe, “Jesus carried her all the way.” Thank You for taking my hand and for fixing my eyes on Jesus. He is my incredible goal. Also, thank You for giving me peace with whatever happens. If I knew what You wanted me to deal with tomorrow or next week I would likely let go, run ahead, try to tackle it myself and just make a mess of things!

The work is not as important as why I do it

Some Christians are called to specific tasks, but I’ve never received a “calling” from God, or a vision from Him concerning how I’m supposed to serve Him. In several places, the Bible mentions people who have special tasks:

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ. (Ephesians 4:11–12)

However this is a list of gifted people with titles and functions, not the same as a specific vision like “preach the gospel to the Inuit” or “teach children in your local church.”

Chambers assumes it is easier to serve God without a vision because you use common sense or human logic to guide whatever ministry to be involved in, giving more opportunity for personal leisure and prosperity. He says that having a commission from Jesus Christ is like a goad to keep you from working on any other basis than sacrificial service. His comments come from this verse . . .

But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. (Acts 20:24)

Paul’s life was precious only on the basis of fulfilling his ministry. He refused to use his energy for anything else. This is my goal too, but is a “calling” necessary toward having that attitude? Echoing in my ear is the speaker at a writers’ conference who said: “We are called to love and obey God; today He might be asking you to write, tomorrow it might be something else.”

What if Paul, bent on building churches, was asked by God to stop and take care of a Samaritan in a ditch? Would he say no, this is not within his calling? Is it more difficult to have a vision and aim at only that, or more difficult to moment by moment listen to the voice of God and do whatever He asks for that moment?

While it didn’t happen to Paul, I can imagine those who have a vision or a calling being so focused on it that it becomes an idol, a “this is my work” thing. Chambers says “practical work” (aka ‘no vision’) is based on this argument—‘Remember how useful you are here,’ or—‘Think how much value you would be in that particular type of work.’ I don’t see why a person with a vision could not fall into the same trap.

He says those who are “not gripped by Jesus Christ” will “count service dear, time given to God dear, life dear” as if having a vision makes others immune to such temptations. I am not convinced. I’ve seen those with a vision who began to count their vision dear, their time given to God dear, their life dear, all because of their calling.

John Calvin suggests that the human heart is an idol-making factory. Being gripped by God is one thing, but our fight between the flesh and His Spirit is constant. Vision or not, that sinful nature can rear its ugly face and twist motivations from glorifying Christ to glorifying self. Paul admits that he fought it just as all of us do, and shares with his readers what God did to help him stay on course . . .

So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (2 Corinthians 12:7–9)

The danger is not in the “practical work” which Chambers say can become competition “against abandonment to God.’ Instead, it seems that the greater danger is any kind of attitude that abandons Jesus Christ as my Guide and lures me into using my own judgment.

The point is not about a life-calling or even what I am doing in day-to-day obedience, but that I must forever remember that I am not my own but His.