January 17, 2008
One
of the blessings about writing "According to your Faith" every
day is the variety of responses I get in my email box. Many are encouraging,
often people share the struggles of their lives, and still others are decidedly
hostile. I never quite know what to expect in my inbox.
A
precious lady replied back after Tuesday’s devotional on the railroad cars. I
have asked two of the ministry team to respond to her questions and so that
others will be helped I will present these responses over the next couple of
days. Here today is the response from Beth and the devotional at the bottom so
there will be a reference point for those of you reading...God Bless
......Darrel
Darrell,
What
if you are ‘sitting on the sidelines’ waiting to be used—you are broken
down and somewhat battered and a little rusty even perhaps but still you want to
be used…you are longing and waiting and yearn to be used like all the other
‘cars’…and you have even come to see where perhaps your greater potential
lies and how you could be used—but maybe you don’t know how to get from
point a to point b…maybe you are having trouble breaking through the barriers
of man…maybe you reach out/step out, but keep getting ‘slapped
back’…what then?
Response
from Beth, To our sister in Christ,
First
is, you get yourself healed. You ask God to reveal to you your heart
(psalm 51). So many pains and hurts we have and God understands those but
in order for us to be more powerful we have to let the Healer make us whole
again.
We
need to be healed and set free again from all those pains and hurts because
God knows along the way we would encounter some more hurt and pains that can
hinder or deeply hurt us all the more. So He wants the old wounds healed
and us well. Our key to recovering ourselves is to forgive people,
circumstances and yourself if you need to. Let go of things you no longer
are meant to keep.
Then you find where you’re happy serving and being intimate with the King.
You don't stay with people who don’t believe in you because that is a
hindrance to God's work and vision for you. People will not always see
Jesus in you and attack you for what God has called you to do (just ask Jesus).
To get from point A to point B is down on your knees, friend. You tell God
about it and wait for his clear instructions. God knows the desire of your
heart to serve but he knows you need to be whole first. So let him take
your yoke and stay close to him.....
Blessings
and our prayers are with you...
Beth
Mason
I drove
down the highway and passed the rail-yard. There were miles of cars sitting on
sidings just waiting to be used.
Box
cars, flat beds, tankers, grain cars all sitting. From the looks of them, some
hadn’t been moved in years. A tremendous investment of money and potential sat
alongside the main line, rusting away. There are yards like this one all over
the country.
What
a boom for the railroads and the economy if all the empty cars had been utilized
to their potential. The spin off in jobs, investment and spending would be
difficult to project.
Christians
are often like the rail-yard. God gifts each of us with gifts to do certain
things to work towards the development of the kingdom, but the gifts never seem
to get off the sidelines.
There
are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of
service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same
God works all of them in all me
1 Corinthians 12:4-6 NIV
Do
you know what your gifts are? Are you putting them to use, or are you just
sitting on the sidelines like the rusting railcars, full of potential but going
nowhere?
Until
next time, May you put to use all the gifts God has given you for His glory.
God bless.
Darrel
Mason