I recently taught our church teens about the concept of "false teachers". All around us are messages of confusion and the only way to know what is falsehood is to compare it to God's Word. I tried to instill in them that they must desire a hunger for reading and studying the Bible. No one can force-feed you. No one can make you desire it for yourself.
Truthfully, it actually comes down to developing the habit of daily study so that it is muscle-memory and you build up some memorization. I call my morning routine my GPS-gratitude, prayer, scripture. I developed the HABIT first. I began small with only a few verses. Now, I read and pray for about an hour every morning, with no hesitation.
This habit developed from a desire to learn. A desire to know. A hunger for guidance.
All good teachers know that you must start with some basic memorization before you dive deeper into content. Automatic recall frees your brain up for actual problem-solving and creativity. Could you ever learn to read if you hadn't memorized the alphabet first?
The same is true with scripture. The time may be drawing near when it is illegal to have a Bible. We must desire to overflow with scripture so that it is ingrained in us in preparation for those times.
Queen Esther was under pressure to speak up in a critical time. The quote "for such a time as this" comes from this story and her placement in that kingdom as a vessel of honor for God's plan. She fulfilled that through obedience and stepping out in boldness, as the king's wife.
It reminds me of the debate of the preacher's wife. "Is that a calling", you might ask.
I'd say it might be a serendipitous calling for me.... a discovery by chance, one that was stumbled upon by looking for something else entirely.
Have you ever accidentally found something good?
I know that I have found something that I was definitely NOT looking for. Something within myself. Something that I didn't know was there. I found out that my entire life had prepared me for this calling.
Think about it. I have been an art teacher of hundreds of kids. I have tried to build relationships with kids that I only saw once a week. Interesting.
I am both a mother and a step-mom. (One day I'll explain why I use the term step-mom but that's another post...) I have been in a pew, praying the preacher would hurry up because I've felt like I had wrestled toddler gators for 2 hours.... I have hauled my tired self into Wednesday evening church after working all day and fed my kids a sorry-excuse-for-a-meal because of time constraints. From all my years of teaching and my early mom years, I know what it is like to feel shame for all your parenting mistakes in front of the world and it's microscope....
Perhaps I have been through these things and more because God has been preparing me for the flock who needed nurturing and compassion.
Perhaps Brad and I experienced the hardest years of our marriage (right after he announced his calling to preach) so we could make it through stronger. Perhaps there would be people who needed to hear our testimony of survival and thriving after nearly giving up.
I say serendipitous but I actually don't believe in accidents. We may choose not to see things as a plan, but that doesn't nullify the plan. Choosing not to see the plan is like burying our heads in the sand. I know I have buried my head in the sand my whole life, or rather, in my shell, like a turtle. I have been so at-war with myself that I couldn't see the light of day.
I am passionate about Jesus. I am zealous about this good news, even if it doesn't manifest in the same way as my bold, preaching husband.
We are all preaching with our lives every single day. We are a testimony to the world around us whether we want to be or not.
We are either shining for Jesus or not.
It is a choice to present yourself a living sacrifice unto God, because you are alive and have the ability to choose... (look up Romans 12:1) A living sacrifice.
My mission, which becomes clearer to me all the time, is to be a guide. I am broken-hearted that so many Christians aren't shining. They are drowning and being choked out by things that once held me by the throat, as well.
So I actually don't think it is a serendipitous calling at all, to be truthful. If you are right handed, you might not appreciate your left hand. However, if you get the left arm injured and it goes in a sling, you are forced to acknowledge the work that the left hand does. You'll realize that the non-dominant hand is doing much more than anyone realizes.
For such a time as this, I am here. Maybe no one notices this preacher's wife. I am called, nonetheless. It is simply more subtle, which is perfectly fine with me. I don't desire to be dominant. I desire to serve and love and teach. I might be digging underground tunnels that no one can see, but I am still working my guts out. I guess some electricity runs underground. I am doing that work to help others SHINE!
Let your light SO SHINE that they may glorify your FATHER, which is in Heaven. It doesn't say that they may glorify Jessica or Pastor Brad or anyone else. Glorify your Father. Yes! Use me, Lord!
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