Faithful Over a Few Things

His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’   Matthew 25: 21

This Sunday, our dear pastor and his lovely wife and son had some much deserved R & R.  A brother from the fellowship delivered the message on Sunday.  He taught on the Parable of the Talents from Matthew 25.   It was a message I needed to hear.


Ever since we decided to homeschool, I purposed to put aside all my ministry roles outside of the home so that I could focus on homeschooling.  For a season, I decided, I would pour all my gifts into my family and home.  This decision was practical.  It made sense.  The only problem was that it just never felt right.   


As wives and mothers, are our primary callings in the home?  Yes!  However, there are other needs (both within and outside of the Body of Christ) that each one of us may also be called to meet.  I've always been convicted that we can never convince our families and neighbors of God's goodness and love if we never step back from our own (many) responsibilities as wife and mother to show them His love.  I believe in stepping away to minister to others, we not only bless those who are outside our home but those inside it as well.  It reminds our family- especially our children- that there are times when our own desires must be put aside for the needs of others.  


God gave us our gifts to be a blessing.  When we use them, it should not be a burden but a joy.  The servants in this passage were entrusted with a gift from the master.  When he returned to settle accounts with each, he expected that they had been not simply good stewards of the gift, protecting it from destruction.  He expected that each had used the gift to bear fruit.  It was only in those cases that the master  uttered the words we all long to hear: "Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things.  Enter into the joy of your lord."  


I am not a preacher or a prophet.  I'm not an evangelist or a teacher.  I do however have a gift from the Lord.  He has given me the analytical and organizational skills of administration.  I can take what might seem like a dry and daunting task to others and break it into small, manageable parts and bring order to a situation.  I have used my gift as secretary of our church, an event coordinator for our Women's Ministry, to organize rides and other help for a friend in need.  Please know that I am not bringing glory to myself at all- God has entrusted me with this gift of administration and I want to use it to bring glory to Him alone!  


Now that we are homeschooling, do I need to step back from some of these roles to pour my time and energy into this calling?  Yes!  Are there ways that I can still use my gift to bless others outside the home as well?  Yes!  God confirmed this to me in Sunday's message.  There are opportunities to minister with my gift that He is bringing to me.  When I know He is calling me outside the home to use my gift, I must follow.  


I have heard Him already.  It is a little thing He asking.  I want to be faithful over it.  

Linking up to Michelle's Hear it on Sunday, Use it on Monday meme:

  

Praying the Psalms- Psalm 88

Jenny is on a journey of praying her way through the Psalms.  I was fortunate enough to join at the start.  Each weekend, we pray through one psalm and post our prayer and/or meditations on that psalm as the Lord leads. Check out her journey and join us in Praying the Psalms.


Psalm 88
This psalm opens with the following words:

"O LORD, the God who saves me,
   day and night I cry out before you.
May my prayer come before you;
   turn your ear to my cry."  Psalm 88: 1-2 

And ends with these: 

"You have taken my companions and loved ones from me;
   the darkness is my closest friend." Psalm 88: 18

The entire psalm is an honest, heartbroken lament.  A reverent "Where Are You, God?"  There is no neat ending, no pious but empty praise here.  Just a soul poured out before Him.


As I watch my friend walk a painful road without her loved one, I am grateful for this psalm.  I am grateful to know that it is ok to lament.  He is big enough to hear our pain and to listen to the depth of our despair.  We do not have to hide it from Him, to try to pretend that we are ok when we are most definitely not.


Father, I thank You that You are big enough to handle our pain, grief and despair.  That we can cry out honestly and lay bare our souls before You.  I pray, Lord, that You do as You've promised and draw near to my friend who is brokenhearted and save her now as she is surely crushed in spirit.  Help me to minister to her in the midst of her pain and despair.  In Jesus' name, amen.     

Praying the Psalms- Psalm 87

Jenny is on a journey of praying her way through the Psalms.  I was fortunate enough to join at the start.  Each weekend, we pray through one psalm and post our prayer and/or meditations on that psalm as the Lord leads. Check out her journey and join us in Praying the Psalms.


Psalm 87

The LORD will write in the register of the peoples:
   “This one was born in Zion.” Psalm 87: 6

Feeling grateful this morning that for all my weaknesses and failures, I can know that my name is written in his register.  It is recorded in the Lamb's Book of Life.  Not because I deserve it.  Not because of anything I have done.  Simply because I was born again.  When I believed the Truth about who I was and who He is and how I need Him, I was born in Zion.  And no matter what evil I do or say, though I try each day to honor Him in word and deed, this assurance cannot be taken from me.


Father, thank You.  Thank You for the indescribable gift of salvation and eternal life!  May I walk worthy of Your calling in my life.  In Jesus' name, amen.  

Praying the Psalms- Psalm 86

Jenny is on a journey of praying her way through the Psalms.  I was fortunate enough to join at the start.  Each weekend, we pray through one psalm and post our prayer and/or meditations on that psalm as the Lord leads. Check out her journey and join us in Praying the Psalms.


Psalm 86

"Teach me your way, O LORD,
   and I will walk in your truth;
give me an undivided heart,
   that I may fear your name." Psalm 86: 11

Oh, to have an undivided heart!  In this day and in this culture where speed and multi-tasking are the goal, I have been a full participant.  My heart is often divided.  My life compartmentalized into neat little boxes and divided up into a daily to do list- Quiet Time at the top of this list with its own little box to check off.  Is this what I want from this life?  No!  I want a life that flows from an undivided heart that is staid on Him and His plan for me.  But a divided, compartmentalized walk is often what I see in my life.  Only He can give me an undivided heart.  I cannot conjure up this level of devotion to Him on my own.  It is a gift from Him, so I pray... 


Father, give me an undivided heart, one that always holds You in first place.  Help me to allow my life to flow from a love for You.  Show me how to be a good steward of my time without planning so much in my own strength that I make no room in my life for Your plan for me.  In Jesus' name, amen.  

Praying the Psalms- Psalm 85

Jenny is on a journey of praying her way through the Psalms.  I was fortunate enough to join at the start.  Each weekend, we pray through one psalm and post our prayer and/or meditations on that psalm as the Lord leads. Check out her journey and join us in Praying the Psalms.


Psalm 85

"Love and faithfulness meet together;
   righteousness and peace kiss each other.
Faithfulness springs forth from the earth,
   and righteousness looks down from heaven.
The LORD will indeed give what is good,"  Psalm 85: 10-12 

On dark days like this one, when a shocked and grieving community gathers at a funeral home to comfort the family of a young husband and father whose life ended sooner than anyone might ever have imagined, I have to force myself to meditate on whatsoever is true.  When friends congregate in the corners of a quiet room, eyes brimming and voices cracking to wonder aloud why God would allow this, I struggle to give a gentle defense.  The truth- that God will work even this for the good of His children and His own glory- is not one that I can see with my human perspective.  


And so I rely on faith- the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen- to get through these moments.  And I pray that her faith is strong enough to endure this kind of pain, that He would stick closer than a brother to her and their two boys, that the community of believers who know them would be His hands and feet.  And I remember that in this fallen world we will have trouble.  But there is a day coming in which love and faithfulness and righteousness will be restored on earth.  The broken will be made whole and the old, fallen earth will be made new.


Father, this is so hard.  We are all in shock.  My dear friend is so very sad.  She needs You now more than ever.  The boys need You.  I need You.  Help me to be a friend, a comfort, a help to this family.  Use even this tragedy to strengthen her faith.  In Jesus' name, amen.    

Praying the Psalms- Psalm 84

Jenny is on a journey of praying her way through the Psalms.  I was fortunate enough to join at the start.  Each weekend, we pray through one psalm and post our prayer and/or meditations on that psalm as the Lord leads. Check out her journey and join us in Praying the Psalms.

Psalm 84

"Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
   who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.
As they pass through the Valley of Baca,
   they make it a place of springs;
   the autumn rains also cover it with pools.
They go from strength to strength,
   till each appears before God in Zion.
 Hear my prayer, O LORD God Almighty;
   listen to me, O God of Jacob."  Psalm 84: 5-8

Our school community has been shocked and devastated by the sudden and unexpected loss of a husband and father.  With mind and heart reeling, I am begging God to give strength to my friend as she endures this unspeakable grief and seeks to help her young boys navigate it as well.  They have all endured so much as it is.  I am fighting against the "why, God?" and trusting Him and His plan.  I am praying for her relationship with Him that was growing through the weekly women's Bible study she and I attended together all last year.  Asking him to strengthen our community to rally around this family.  Will you join me in praying for this family?

"Hear my prayer, O LORD God Almighty;
   listen to me, O God of Jacob."