Last year the Lord asked me to stretch
myself much farther than I’d ever done before.
I was to go speak a word from the Lord to the pastors at my church. Usually if He wants to say something to
someone through me He tells me beforehand and I write it down or at least generally
know what He wants to say. This time I
had nothing. Not a word. Scary…
It stayed scary right up until I left
the house that morning. Then the Spirit
filled me and His peace settled in. I
gave the word to the available pastors, taping it for the rest. At the end the pastors said, “We receive that
word,” and I thought, awesome. As I was
driving away the Lord asked if it was necessary for them to receive the word or
if it just mattered that I did what He wanted me to no matter the outcome. It was then He quickly reminded me of all the
words given by God’s servants of old that were rejected, ignored, not accepted,
not heeded, and yet they chose to obey God.
No, I’m not saying I’m some great
servant of God, but I am saying that it was my obedience even in the midst of
doubt and some fear that pleased Him.
Obedience needed to be my focus, not concern for the outcome- what the
pastors thought. Whether or not they
received it was between God and them (but was still a little scary for me).
For our exhortation to
you was not of error, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile, but as we
have been approved by God to be entrusted with
the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God, who tries our
hearts. For neither at any time did we use flattering words, as you know, nor
with pretense of covetousness; God is
witness. Nor did we seek glory from men… 1Th. 2:3-6
For now do I persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to
please men? For if I yet pleased men, I would not be a servant of Christ. Gl.
1:10
As I was
reading these verses a few thing popped out to me. The apostles (servants of God too) exhorted
without deceit or delusion, nor in impure or immoral state, nor trying to trick
or deceive. What they spoke was not to
please men but God who knows even the intentions of our hearts. They didn’t flatter the listeners to achieve
more disciples, more status, a bigger following or under a hidden desire to
gain more money. They didn’t try to
raise their reputation or other’s opinions of them. In other words, they tried to please God and
not man.
It shouldn’t
concern us what man thinks of what we say and do, but we should very much care
what God thinks of what we say and do. He
is the Judge. He is the one who decides
where our eternity will be. He knows
every little thing about us even why we do what we do.
That should be a little scary to us!