my salvation comes from him.
Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will never be shaken…
Yes, my soul, find rest in God;
my hope comes from him.
Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
-Psalm 62:1-2;5-6
Christian ministry can be brutal. It’s also beautiful. This fact is not reserved for “professionals” in ministry. It is true for every follower of Christ.
I was sharing a meal with a friend recently. As I listened to the exhausting plot twists and roller coaster ride of recent events, I thought to myself, “There’s no way I could do what he’s doing.” As he described the brutal details of life - it hit me like a load of bricks… the language he used wasn’t dissimilar from my own.
As Christians, many of us are guilty of convenience, compartmentalizing, and complacency. The problem? Our memory. We often forget (myself included) Scripture makes it clear that we are not to be OF the world despite being IN the world.
Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world. The world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God remains forever.
-1 John 2:15-17 (BSB)
We frequently allow our fallen nature to cling to us without struggle or thought because expectations are rooted in the patterns and desires of the world. Contrastingly, Scripture tells us we, as members of the Body of Christ, must be intentional about clinging, i.e. uniting ourselves, to Him in the Spirit:
Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! Or don’t you know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with Him in the Spirit.
-1 Corinthians 6:15-17
Whether in banking or real estate, whether teacher or soldier, whether attorney or pastor- whatever you do as an occupation is secondary to our primary vocation as ambassadors of Christ.
We invite and allow the world to dictate to us through advertising, marketing, and the various patterns of the flesh. Shockingly, we’re then surprised when the brutality of Christian ministry crashes to the forefront and overwhelms us!
But when we, like the psalmist, allow God to be our rest, our salvation, our hope, and our stronghold - only then are the storms of circumstance calmed and the tempests of tribulation vanquished!
See today for what it is: a vanishing vapor ushering in Immanuel's eternal reign. Then, together, we can truly cling to, and find our rest in, Jesus Christ our Lord - God over the storm!
Blessings,
Kevin M. Kelley
aMostUnlikelyDisciple.com
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