When you think about what God has called us to do, it is certainly overwhelming. When I think about the Great Commission in Matthew and Acts, I am overwhelmed by the magnitude of the task and trust. (I often tell people if I were God, I would have a Plan B as Plan A seems to be too much for man.) Think about what God has called, challenged and expected us to do. “Go and make disciples of all peoples of the world . . .” and “You are expected to be My witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the limits of your imagination.” (Interpretation is mine)
It does not matter where you find yourself (we are living in an area with 440,000+ people and less than .75% are evangelical Christians, Paul found himself in prison, you are . . .) God is expecting you to be the standard bearer for His Message. Most of the time we feel overwhelmed and alone in the task. We do not act like standard bearers but more like reserves, support troops or prisoners of war.
But there are great promises that go along with the challenge, “Be strong and courageous; don’t be terrified or afraid of them. For it is the LORD your God who goes with you; He will not leave you or forsake you.” (Deut. 31:6); “The LORD is the One who will go before you. He will be with you; He will not leave you or forsake you. Do not be afraid or discouraged.” (Deut. 31:8); “But you shall receive power (ability, efficiency, and might) when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, . . .” (Acts 1:8, AMP).
The challenge of sharing the Gospel Message effectively and/or planting church in places where people do not care for them seems overwhelming. Then I realized it is a team effort. I am responsible to tell the story in a culturally effective manner, the Holy Spirit does the convicting, and God does the saving.
Then it dawned on me, just like a slammed statement from a TV program, “You are the weakest link!” Man what a team and then there is me. But according to the promises above, God is with me even in my part of the task. For that I am grateful.
The challenge now is to live victoriously so that God can do His best through me.
God promises to accomplish His purpose and He allows me to be a part of the plan/effort in doing that. WOW, it’s not that I HAVE to but that I GET TO!
I need to have bigger expectations because of the team that I am on!
Good stuff, John. Right on!