Road to Reflection
Let us not grow weary in the work of love
Welcome to another episode of Road to Reflection, a section where I pen my thoughts and lessons from experiences as an everyday believer. If this is your first time on Bud and Blossom, feel free to check for older posts here.
What do you do when you try to lead people to God,
And are later met with scorn?
Do you let go of the vision He has given you?
Do you let everything burn?
Will you seek His face for strength,
And to His arms return?
Will you ask for a refreshing?
Will you let love run? In the short duration of my walk with the Lord, I am learning that evangelism and soul-winning are activities opposed by satan. As my spiritual father puts it, it is like trying to remove someone from the devil’s pocket; be assured that he won’t let go without a tussle. Even though we rest in the victory Christ won through His finished works, there is still a responsibility for believers to “battle” so that His triumph can be appropriated in our daily living.
Throughout Scripture, we see the mission heart of God; wanting all men to be joined to Him as in His original plan at creation. From the fall of Adam, God began (and continues in) the business of restoring His people to Himself. In the Old Testament, He raised leaders to direct Israel and deliver the message of repentance. Under the New Covenant, God provided the only means of reconciliation to Himself in the person of Jesus Christ, who is the embodiment of God’s mercy and love. Through a belief and confession of His death and resurrection, many have been redeemed, forgiven of their sins, and entered a relationship with the Maker which (and will) lasts into eternity.
Call it the heartbeat of God.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake, He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him, we might become the righteousness of God.
2 Corinthians 5: 17-21, ESV
The Great Commission1 which has been entrusted to every Christian involves an active spread of God's Kingdom on earth through the evangelism of the Good News to men. Each believer is tasked to share Jesus Christ with souls who are in need of the Truth. Through the knowledge of God's Word, a zeal and burden for souls, willingness to lift others in prayers, and a close communion with the Holy Spirit, Christians can contribute to the propagation of the Gospel message that has the power to save the lost.
However, there are occasions when our efforts to preach the Gospel will be met with scorn or rejection. Sometimes, one’s attempts to reach the unsaved may seem to yield “little fruit” in spite of continuous evangelism and prayers. In such instances, discouragement tends to get used by the enemy for the planting of doubtful thoughts in one's mind. Did God really call me? Did I hear well? Why do others succeed in their assignments and I don’t? The questioning continues.
No one wants to labour in vain, be it in natural or spiritual work. Yet, it can be difficult to continue in a direction laid with past disappointments especially with respect to the discharge of assignments given by the Lord.
What then do you do when you are discouraged because your service to Him has no “immediate results”?
Lift Up Your Eyes
I will lift up my eyes to the hills— from whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
Psalm 121:1-2, ESV
The central idea of lifting one’s eyes is to take the gaze away from our surroundings and look unto the Most High. Even though life has its own woes and challenges, our focus must always be on Jesus regardless of circumstances and setbacks that we may endure. As children of God who desire the expansion of our Father's Kingdom on earth, we must keep our eyes on Christ and remain plugged into the Source.
Remind Yourself
There is a tendency to forget the reason why we serve the Lord during seasons of trials and suffering. True service is born out of deep, reverent worship and as a person abides in the faith, there will be a need to sometimes pause, recollect and repose — doing these help to realign our thoughts when in low spirit.
Take time to reflect on where you were before the Lord drew you to Himself. Think back to the life you lived and count the blessings of His love and mercies in your experience. As you give yourself to Word Study, write down pivotal moments in your Christian journey that come to mind. Carefully evaluate your expectations and ask these questions:
Whom do I believe?
Whom have I received?
Why am I serving Him?
The Bible provides encouragement, comfort and insight into the essence of our worship of the Almighty. When we are burnt, let us soak His Word and be reminded about the love of the Father who has promised to be with us when we feel like failures and walk by sight instead of faith. Let us remember His goodness, pick ourselves up and carry on.
Seek A Fresh Encounter
Call unto Me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.
Jeremiah 33:3, KJV
Encounters are important constituents within the Christian experience that God uses to accomplish things in the lives of individuals. More often than not, they leave a lasting effect on the object of God’s visit, and serve as propellants for specific occurrences in a person’s life.
Scripture shows various examples of persons who had divine encounters that changed their lives. Here is a short list:
Moses, who encountered God in the burning Bush. See Exodus 3
Jacob’s dream at Bethel. See Genesis 28:10-22
The demoniac who met Jesus and was healed. See Mark 5:1-20
Paul’s encounter with God on his way to Damascus. See Acts 9:1-19
God invites us to seek Him for a fresh encounter when we are weary; one that will revive us again.
Pray
Nothing beats time spent in close fellowship to the Lord. At every moment, God desires His children to speak and pour out their hearts to Him. No matter the emotion in your soul, He is always there to provide comfort and succour. Only sit at His feet and let Him wrap you in His arms.
Talk to Your Spiritual Leaders
Jesus Christ has and continues to appoint leadership that will cater for His sheep. Each believer is expected to be a member of a local assembly that affirms and conforms to the truth of God’s Word, and in such environments can good counsel be sought from those whom the Lord has placed as His representatives, over the gatherings. Through healthy conversations with mature elders, a dampened soul can be rekindled as the Lord gives utterance.
And He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.
Ephesians 4:11-14, ESV
Be Patient
Fruit-bearing does not happen in a night but over a length of time. In botany, the life cycle of plants is categorized into different groups in line with their varying properties and growth patterns. Not all plants grow in the same manner, season or condition — some fully develop in less than a calendar year while others may remain in the budding stage till their sixth year.
Using this as a parallel to our Christian lives, God has a different growth path for all who are in Him. Though He provides basic elements for our nourishment and fruitfulness in our relationships and service to Him, each believer’s walk is personal and dynamic. Our destinies, timings, and callings lie in the hands of the Potter who constantly moulds us to His perfect design.
Luke 8:15 highlights the place of patience in bearing fruits for Christ.
As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the Word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience. ESV
The seeds that fell in good soil stand for those who hear the message and retain it in a good and obedient heart, and they persist until they bear fruit. GNT
But the seed in the good ground—these are the ones who, having heard the word with an honest and good heart, hold on to it and by enduring, produce fruit. - CSB
Indeed, Jesus stated that His own shall be known by their fruit2. Yet, He did not give specific timeframe of when these fruits will be produced in any man. This reinforces this truth — the timing of our fruition is determined by God as we cooperate with His work in our lives.
Unfortunately, many of us tend to overlook the “growth stage”, forgetting that we are also seeds that will be used at different capacities to His glory.3
In conclusion, every sacrifice made towards the Gospel, care of His church and reverence towards His things is seen by Jesus. Even when it feels like those around you have visible, quantifiable results in their assignments and you are about to think that your efforts are not worth it, remember that there is a God who sees you.
Don't Quit
God is the one who chooses people4, and not man. Amidst the times of difficulties or drought that may arise in our service to Him, we must continue to forge ahead in the very thing that He has called us to do.
I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the Word [as an official messenger]; be ready when the time is right and even when it is not [keep your sense of urgency, whether the opportunity seems favorable or unfavorable, whether convenient or inconvenient, whether welcome or unwelcome]; correct [those who err in doctrine or behavior], warn [those who sin], exhort and encourage [those who are growing toward spiritual maturity], with inexhaustible patience and [faithful] teaching.
2 Timothy 4:1-2, AMP
Prayer
Lord Jesus, I thank You for giving me the privilege to serve You. I ask that You help me to always do Your work in Spirit and Truth, and that You help me to not grow weary in doing all You have asked me to do. Open my eyes to see You in everything and help me to be faithful in all You have bestowed to me. I ask for Your grace to abide in You Lord and I thank You for answering me. Amen.
The One who calls you is faithful, and He will do it.
1 Thessalonians 5:24, NIV
It is pertinent to state that no extremes should be take without carefully studying Scriptures on this subject. As servants of the Living God, we should desire fruitfulness in the labour we do (and intend to do) for the Kingdom. However, the ability to maintain a fervent enthusiasm and not become self'-condemning when things do not manifest as we expect is a grace that God bestows on those who seek Him and carefully weigh their motives.