Monday, November 03, 2008

 

A Shift in Seasons

Tomorrow is Election Day—Obama or McCain? Only the Lord knows who will win the vote, but one thing I rest in is this: the Great I AM is in control, no matter who takes the office of president. That truth alone brings peace.

It also feels worth noting that gas prices have dropped below $2.50 a gallon (some even at $2.39!). Thank you, Jesus. I can’t help but wonder how long it will last…

Yesterday brought a surprise. At the Acts Bible Study, BA announced that the Lord told them they were finished—both the Sunday morning and Friday night gatherings. Yesterday was the last meeting. Wow. I know Tom and I had been sensing the Lord nudging us away from Friday nights, especially with the “Truth Project” beginning at BY’s, but I hadn’t expected Sundays to end as well.

Part of me feels sad, because we have learned and grown so much through those meetings. Yet another part of me feels stirred with anticipation. When God closes one door, He usually opens another. Perhaps the time is drawing near for Tom and me to start something ourselves. Whatever the Lord has for us next, I know it will be good.

Looking back, I see the calendar steadily clearing. First R and J’s meetings ended, then L’s, and now B and CA’s. The seasons are changing. I want to be ready.

The book we’ve been reading online, The Harlot Church System, also spoke into this season. The author shared how the Lord told him to quit “The Ministry.”

"What does it mean to quit THE Ministry?" I asked my wife, Nancy. As usual, with keen perception, knowing it had to do with me in particular, she thoughtfully answered. "It means not feeling responsible for the people in the little groups we minister to, making a syllabus or a book of everything that comes to you, systematizing everything into a formal teaching with the idea you have to teach it, starting a ministry school, putting out newsletters, nor pastoring anyone. It means to just be." 

I liked that description!! How hard is it for us to JUST BE and not take responsibility for the people the Lord brings to us!!? Lord help me to not continue to get caught up in the same old trap over and over again... when all you ask is for me to be—abiding in You, available to Your Spirit.

It also brought to mind the way we call what we do our ministry. Every time those words leave my lips, they feel wrong. It isn’t mine. It isn’t ours. It’s His. I may not know what to call it yet—perhaps simply “the Lord’s work”—but I know I cannot take ownership of what belongs to Him.

Lord, may I walk with open hands in this new season, ready to follow wherever You lead.