Reminding Ourselves We Are Only the Clay

One of our great challenges in ministry is working wholeheartedly without striving in our own strength. When Margaret and I overlook God’s sovereignty and slip into an inflated view of our role in achieving Kingdom goals through The Rock, we provide a foot hold for the devil.

Our illusion of control can result in pridefulness when things are going good. When things are not going so well in our fleshly strength, it gives our enemy Satan the opening to discourage us by accusing us of being feckless failures. In truth, the results of our efforts are up to God, not us. We are mere clay. God is the potter. (Isaiah 64:8) We need to remind ourselves to spend more time on our knees calling out to Him. Ministry strategies are good but void of power without God’s hand upon them.

God does not take it lightly when we, in the name of ministry, charge ahead without submitting to Him and giving Him all the glory. Moses is the prime example of this. When the Israelites complained about the lack of water in the desert, God told him to speak to a specific rock and it would pour out water. Instead, Moses took it upon himself to strike the rock twice with his staff, saying, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” The Lord replied: “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.” In other words – no Promised Land for Moses.

We are to be a living sacrifice to the Lord (Romans 12:1) and do everything as if unto Him (Colossians 3:23). The great freedom in living and working this way is revealed in Romans 8:28, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” If we surrender to God, He will work things out regardless of our imperfections.

A related challenge is that, as entrepreneurs, Margaret and I like to see tangible results. Sometimes God blesses us with visible results among the people we are serving, other times not. Just because we do not always see the fruit does not mean the seed has not taken root.

And, as Margaret and I live in faith for financial provision, we must guard against viewing financial challenges as ministry discouragements. When the well begins to run dry, I have sometimes asked the question, “Lord, are you withholding blessings to show me it’s time to leave the ministry?” Recently the Lord convicted me for saying that. He has the authority at any time to speak to me through His Holy Spirit to move on to something else. But I now realize a bumpy financial ride is no reason to question a calling.

Elijah had to be fed by ravens and got down to what seemed to be his last meal when a widow shared her final portions of food with him. Yet Elijah did not question his calling. Instead, he trusted God and saw a great miracle as God continued miraculously to replenish the widow’s portion daily.