Sufficient

In Psalm 23, we read the famous verses of God being our Shepherd. As you study it you see how He is to be the one to lead, protect, and provide for His sheep, as well as give them rest. For a while now I’ve been going about life and ministry basically all wrong. I may have said that I was resting in, believing in, and waiting on God but really as I’ve now had more time to reflect on it, I really haven’t been doing that at all.

Over the past few days I’ve been in Murrieta, California for a youth workers conference, and I must say there are few things that are more refreshing then being surrounded by 350 people who share similar passion for ministry with you. I was able to share a room with a couple of really amazing women who truly had depth to their faith as we talked about theology and realize that I wasn’t a “nerd” for doing so (of course you may choose to differ with me on that). I was hearing about what God was using these fellow servants around the country to do to minister to youth and it really was a shot in the arm like I’ve never experienced before. And I also realized that I wasn’t the only one feeling like I’d been running on empty as grown men cried about how exhausted they were and how they didn’t feel like they were spending their time as wisely as they hoped – realizing I wasn’t alone in that was also a huge blessing. But more than that, it was the times of worship and teaching that God really just hit me.

The whole conference was based around our sufficiency we have in Christ. Over and over we were reminded that “without Him we can do NOTHING”. Something that hit me was at one point we were reminded to not sacrifice our joy and intimacy with Christ at the altar of ministry. Which is honestly, one trap I fall into more often then I want to admit. They emphasized how the most loving thing we could do for our students is not only TEACH them about Jesus but SHOW them Jesus – another thing I kind of let slip through the cracks as I would spend so much time studying to teach them and very little time being around my students living it out. And then there was the idea of abiding – I am called to abide in Him and the fruit that is talked about in the chapter in John about how He is the vine and we are the branches is not fruit in ministry necessarily but the fruit of the Spirit in my own life as well.

That brings me back to the original idea about the Shepherd and how He cares for His flock. The Vinedresser is there to ensure the most fruit possible can come from the branches and I need to yield to the ways He’s trying to do that. When Jesus was washing the disciples feet – He wasn’t just showing it as the example of how we are to be with others (although that is a huge part of it) but it’s also showing what He desires to do in our own lives. He is the only one who can pour into and serve me so that I can in turn do that to others. Nobody else can do that for me (and that includes myself). I have to stop… stop working in my own strength and wisdom, stop being so focused on the work that I neglect my relationship with Him, stop being so focused on the teachings that I fail to show my students how that looks practically. I need to quiet my soul before Him… and really just stop and allow Him to be literally the one in whom I live and move and have my being.