A Life in Exile

Why is it so easy, as a believer in Christ, to mess up, miss the mark, say something stupid, get angry, or be discouraged? It’s easy because we’re fallible human beings, for one. Short of our eternal perfection, we’re still jars of clay—cracked pots that God so graciously continues to choose for his work in the Kingdom.

Secondly, it’s easy to mess up because we have an adversary who is constantly at work to enable our weaknesses. Nothing makes the devil happier than to see a Christian worker disappointed to the point of giving up on the mission and packing it all in. The fewer the missionaries on the field, the fewer opportunities for the lost and dying to hear the good news and choose Christ.

So, how do we avoid these pitfalls in Christian life and service?

Stay in tune.

If you think about certain instruments, such as a piano, a television, a radio, and even a voice, staying in tune and set on just the right channel is vital to their purpose. This holds for the Christ-follower as well, but how do we stay in tune? We look into the face of God. Oswald Chambers says it best.

A Christian worker is one who perpetually looks in the face of God and then goes forth to talk to people.

Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest

What gets me out of tune?

A simple answer would be sin, but what kinds of sin distract us from looking to God? Talking too much is an obvious one. When we speak more than we listen, both to the Lord and then to others, we are in danger of skewing God’s Word and allowing our own words to take precedence.

We also get out of tune when we lose our focus. Neglecting to spend time daily with God and in his Word threatens to lessen his impact on our thoughts, words, and actions. When I’ve spent time studying and meditating on his Word, that passage becomes a focal point of my day, spilling into my conversations and deeds.

Naval-gazing is another way we lose sight of God in service. A kinder word is excessive introspection, but it doesn’t hide the fact that it is detrimental to our relationship with God and our work for his Kingdom. I think of King Hezekiah during his illness. He had been faithful and was seen as one who did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. Yet, sometimes sickness or struggles can cause us to turn inward instead of keeping our gaze fixed on God. This is what happened with the king, and he was bitterly upset at the prospect of dying. He pled his case with God, but the healing that was provided came at a cost—the kingdom would fall. What was Hezekiah’s response? He was just happy he was healed. He wouldn’t be around for the downfall of Judah, so felt no shame. That’s what naval gazing will get you.

When I look at God and God alone, I know my place in his purposes. Unfortunately, I begin to fail in confidence when I turn to my right or left in comparison with my fellow believers. I love the interaction between Jesus and Peter in John 21. Peter had reconfirmed his love for Christ, and the Lord reinstated him with the words, “Follow me.”

So Peter turned around and saw the disciple Jesus loved following them, the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and asked, “Lord, who is the one that’s going to betray you?” When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about him?” “If I want him to remain until I come,” Jesus answered, “what is that to you? As for you, follow me.”

John 21:20-22 CSB

The Lord has just reaffirmed his desire for Peter to serve in his Kingdom, and Peter is distracted by his supposed rival, John. Comparison is a wicked trap. We must remember Jesus’s response any time we’re tempted to compare: “What is that to you? As for you, follow me.”

How will you stay in tune this year?

As we are in the early days of a new year, have you been examining your walk with God and found it wanting? Have excessive talking, comparing, introspection or time away from the Word started you on a spiritual tailspin? What can you do to reset the dial in your relationship with God?

When I watched a piano tuner tune my piano, I noticed two things: He carried with him an instrument that held the true tone, and each key’s string required patient tightening or loosening. God is our true tone, his Word our instrument of adjustment. When we have become lax in applying his commands, we need to tighten up; when we have become legalistic and neglected grace, we need to loosen our wrong attitude.

Whether we are too tight or too loose, confession is needed to readjust to God’s standard. Start there, and as you remain focused on his face, his Spirit will guide you along the path to joyful service to his glory. Service in tune to our Maker results in a beautiful, harmonious melody that draws others to him.

Grace and Peace

Missed the last Mission Monday post? Click HERE. For two other posts on keeping focused in ministry, check these out: Focus in the Frailty and Looking Forward