I've been blogging at night at the end of each day, but today's really resounded with me because I've been walking through this daily for the past year and a half...maybe longer. I will share my feedback but you just have to get this journal because so far, this chapter has kicked my rear more than any other...
Expectations
Luke 17:7-10
Many of us embark on ministry tasks with good hearts, but as we haven't been through all the fires of refining, our launch into work seems noble but secretly we believe it's worthy of attention and it will fulfill our need for worth. Expectations can be dangerous, their effect on our state of being can make or break us.
What I write next might make a few waves, but understand that it's from personal battles and experiences of my own unrealistic expectations in launching One Child Campaign. The past year and a half has been a time where we have been challenged, broken down and rebuilt. So here goes...orphan care (and any ministry for that matter) is a calling, not just a nice, sweet thing to do. In fact, to get to the point, it's usually gritty, not full of glory, ugly and flat out hard. Sometimes, we unknowingly make what we "do" who we are - it can become our idol and our identity. Been there. Still fight it. Yes, to care for orphans and widows and to love with abandon is the calling of every believer - BUT that does not mean we need to build "our own" ministry kingdoms.
Something that we share with every one of our teams that go on our trips is simply this - the orphan crisis, poverty and injustice will be overwhelming. It just is. But, we set their expectations that they are only responsible to do what God speaks to them to do. Touch the life of one child, one woman, one man, one family, one church or one community. It's our job as an organization to make sure that we can facilitate that obedience in any way that we can, even if it means they plug into the vision of another ministry. After all, whose Kingdom are we building?
I'm reminded of the parable in Matthew 25 that deals with stewardship. We are to only obey what God tells us to do. We are NOT to compare what we have been given to anyone else's "talent". We are responsible for only obedience. Most of the time obedience doesn't win awards, doesn't get attention or validation. But whose validation are we looking for? Our calling wasn't given to us to feel good or for people to recognize who we are, so we (I) must daily humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God and learn to live His expectations for us. That is the life that Jesus lived, He sought to do nothing but please the Father. He only did what He heard the Father tell Him to do. Nothing else matters. Just Jesus.
Prayer for Unreached People Group: Somali
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