By
Allen White
I am sending you out like sheep among
wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. Be on your
guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the
synagogues. On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as
witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you, do not worry
about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say,
for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through
you. Matthew 10:16-20
Passages like this are easy to relegate
to the past. We’re never getting arrested. We’re scared of witnessing. And,
what’s this about God taking over our mouths? (Not that it’s necessarily a bad
idea.)
Imagine that you’re among the twelve hearing
these words. Jesus is commissioning you to serve. These are his instructions:
“I will do great things with you. Travel light. Don’t get weighed down with
things you think you need. And, oh by the way, if you end up in jail or in
front of a judge, it’s only an opportunity to share the Gospel with them.” Are
these instructions to build Christ’s church or rob a bank?
What would you do if these were Jesus’
instructions to you. Would you say, “Let’s roll!” or “Let’s run!”?
God doesn’t always use conventional
means to get us where He wants us. Think about Joseph in the Old Testament. Ultimately,
God needed Joseph as basically the Prime Minister of Egypt in order to save
God’s people from starvation. The path to Joseph’s success was his brother’s
jealousy (Genesis
37:1-11), slavery (Genesis
37:12-36), false accusation (Genesis
39:1-20), imprisonment (Genesis
39:20-40:23) and being forgotten (Genesis
41:1). What a resume: favored son, former
slave, ex-con, prime minister. Wouldn’t an MBA and a political science degree
have sufficed?
God will use unconventional means to
take you to unconventional places in order to fulfill His will. We often look
for a convenient, comfortable, safe path when we choose to follow God’s will.
After all, we’re working for God. He’ll take care of us, right?
He will never leave us or forsake us (Deuteronomy
31:6). But, God never promised us a rose
garden. Besides every rose has its thorn. (How’s that for mixing musical
genres?)
What has happen in your life that you
absolutely did not expect? A job change, family situation, special needs child,
life controlling problem, recovery, loss, disappointment, success. I’m not
saying that God preplanned the pain in your life, but how could God use your
life experiences to help others?
If you’ve recovered from a staggering
financial loss, who can you encourage? If you’ve parented a strong-willed
child, who could use your advice? If you’re overcoming a life controlling
problem one day at a time, who needs your support?
You don’t have to be an expert on the
subject. Your credibility comes from the fact that you lived it and survived.
Leave the rest up to God. He will even give you the words according to this
passage.
God never wastes a hurt. What have you
overcome or endured? How could God use your experiences to help another? What
circumstance in your life has been completely unexpected or even disappointing?
How has that circumstance given you access to people you wouldn’t know
otherwise? Can God use even a low spot to raise somebody up?
Our lives aren’t accidents. We don’t
rely on luck – good or bad. God is in control. Will you trust Him with what’s
next for you?
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