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BRAVER THAN LIONS
Sam Stringer
Jan 4, 2025
We give no offense in anything, that our ministry may not be blamed. But in all
things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, in
tribulations, in needs, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in
labors, in sleeplessness, in fastings; by purity, by knowledge, by longsuffering,
by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love, by the word of truth, by the
power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, by
honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true;
as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as chastened, and
yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many
rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.
2 Corinthians 6:3-10
How do we minister to other people? What do you think it takes to make you an
effective minister of the Gospel in another person's life? Now please understand, when I
say minister, I don't necessarily mean being a pastor or missionary by title, though that
certainly fits. I simply mean what we who are believers are all called to do: to further the
gospel in our contexts, in our time. Recently I heard that phrase that comes from Esther
4:14, “For such a time as this.” You and I were made for such a time as this, never by
accident, never by choice, but by the sovereign appointment of God.
Again, what does it take to minister effectively to other people in our contexts? Consider
today's passage: God can and does use people in all sorts of states and stages of life.
As I was reading through these verses, I was briefly taken aback by the phrase, “In need.” Paul does not relate to being in need as the worst thing possible. Americans
often do, and not just the needs of destitute people, but those needs that attend
luxurious living. I need “this” to sustain “that.” but you know, Paul says that need created
a context by which he was able to minister to other people. Look at that list and you’ll
see the various situations externally and internally that created opportunities rather than
hindering them.
How crazy it is that the list he gives is often the prayer requests of many of us. I'm losing
sleep, I'm in need, I'm stressed out. Again, Paul’s tone is not one of confinement, but
opportunity. Your stories will create all sorts of things to draw out of the well of your life,
passing on precious “water” from your experiences with God in ways that will help other
people, maybe even see them come to Jesus.
Additionally, I might add that effective ministry doesn't always mean that people are
responding the ways we wish they would. What it does mean is that we are resting in
and relying upon Jesus in doing what he is asking us to do. Do you hear me? It's not
about the outcomes, it is about faithfulness despite whatever happens. In the sight of
God, when we look at the Scriptures and see some incredibly hard and unfruitful
ministries by some very faithful people, we don't see failures. We see people who
succeeded in battles that God chose not to let be won on horizontal planes at the time,
but which served greater purposes than the day might have revealed. You can have a
successful life without much to show for it; I know that sounds very hard to grasp
because of how much we want the feedback and the affirmation, but truth be told, when
any of us lives for Jesus despite whatever happens in response to it, we have
succeeded. He knows what He’s accomplishing even if it feels like a trainwreck from our
perspective.
What should you do with today's devo? I don't think it's wrong for you to pray for certain
things not be there in your life or for other possibilities to come into it. Still, you would
miss the great and precious gift of some of the contexts you have been given if you
overlooked them and failed to see that they were not an antithesis to being used by God
but were rather the means to minister to other people. When the eyes can be cleared
from the crud of our attitudes towards our situations, it’s there that we find the deep joy
of seeing the great wisdom of God that we so often overlooked.
We need to have the faith to see that God is indeed in all of those things that might be
considered negatives. Paul’s list is not necessarily a vacation bucket list, you know?
Yes, God is in the positives, but can you see him in the negatives? Can you see Him in
everything? A faith that can learn to see God in all places, at all times, is fuel for brave
living. Trust Him in His wisdom, even when it doesn’t make sense to you in the moment.
Be brave, be blessed.
Sam Stringer
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