March 08 2011, 12:26 pm | Danny Jones
There is always the struggle in life and leadership to think I am indispensible. I may be “wise” enough to not say this, but my schedule proves differently. We are pulled in so many directions, but with legitimate reason and energy to be involved in only a few of these things, and I need reminding of the proverb: “Cemeteries are filled with people who thought the world couldn’t get along without them.” God is saying to me, repent! If it is pride causing me to take things on, repent! If it is a “savior of the world syndrome”, repent! If the problem is disorganization, repent! Repentance is a change of mind brought about by the Holy Spirit that produces a change of action in which the Holy Spirit can produce fruit that is missing. Busyness doesn’t indicate health or even productivity. I need to get over myself and repent! God can effectively accomplish what needs to be done. I certainly need to be attentively involved in what the Holy Spirit is telling me to engage in, but nothing more and nothing less. And then I simply need to pray and know that God is able to handle all that he has on his plate.
God used II Samuel 18 to interrupt my ministry paradigm. But before I go there, I need to say that the night before I read this I was deciding whether to attend a prayer retreat. The dilemma was due to a counseling situation in which I felt I needed to stay behind and navigate. Reality was that I wasn’t sure what else I could do or say, but I felt like they couldn’t make it without me. Amazingly, however, I decided to leave town and attend the prayer retreat. That night we wife called me to say that things had blown up with them again. I told her it would have to wait until my return.
The next morning I read that David is running from Absalom’s pursuing army. They meet in the Forrest of Ephraim, David being greatly out numbered. Verse 7 tells us that Israel was defeated by David’s men (20,000 died). And then verse 8 blew me away. This is what I had never seen. “the battle spread out over the whole countryside, and the forest claimed more lives that day than the sword.” I wasn’t sure why God was drawing this to my attention, but I couldn’t get away from it. A couple hours later, my wife called, almost speechless this time. “You are not going to believe what happened,” she said, referring to the counseling situation. She told me a story of God awaking in the night this individual (who would not claim to be surrendered to Christ) and in what he claimed was an audible voice, telling him what he needed to do, why he needed to do it, and compelling him into action that I had not been able to do through weeks of counsel. He got up that morning in obedience and had taken a huge step of reconciliation. I heard a voice too, audible or not is irrelevant. God said, “I have so many ways to accomplish what I desire. You are one of them, and I love using you. But you are not indispensible. I can use trees if I need to, and I will if I want to. And I will not let another share in my glory. So repent, get over yourself, live in realistic obedience, and enjoy the journey.” It is a journey out of indispensability. But I am on it. And by the way, it is two weeks later the couple is doing amazing. And I am making room for trees to win battles.