Although I wish that I could have avoided the suffering I have gone through, I realize that God has given me a platform as a result. And I want to use that platform to glorify him through it.
If you are called to be a leader, then it will cost you. There will be some pain. If you are called to lead, there are times it will hurt a little. And sometimes it will hurt a lot.
Generally we try to avoid pain. At least I do. Some dentists advertise "pain-free dentistry," which I believe is an oxymoron. You may be pumped full of Novocain or nitrous oxide, but ultimately there will be some pain involved. When we want to get into better shape, we wonder if there is a way to work out without actually breaking a sweat. But we ultimately must face the truth of the adage, "No pain, no gain."
What is true of the dentist and the gym is also true of life. When we have pain in our lives, it reminds us of a deeper need: the need for God. A.W. Tozer said, "It is doubtful whether God can bless a man greatly until he has hurt him deeply." Take the apostle Paul for example. After his encounter with Jesus, Paul blazed a trail, leaving behind many churches and converts. Paul preached to philosophers, Pharisees, rulers, soldiers, sorcerers, sailors, slaves and most likely to Caesar himself. It is not an understatement to say that Paul changed his world. He was charged with the message of the gospel, and he brought it to his generation and did so brilliantly. As we look over his ministry, we know that God did miracles through Paul. We are aware of the fact that he wrote a great portion of the New Testament. We quote him frequently. He was God's man.
But there is another aspect of Paul's life that we sometimes forget about: He suffered. When God called Ananias to go and pray for Paul after his conversion, Ananias was a bit resistant. But God told him, "I will show him how much he must suffer for my name" (Acts 9:16 NIV). That gets missed sometimes. We think of Paul the preacher, Paul the writer and Paul the miracle worker, but we tend to overlook Paul, the man who suffered.
Those in leadership have all suffered in varying degrees. They have been second-guessed and have been the victims of gossip and sometimes slander. They have even been threatened. Some have lost their lives. http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=210533
Generally we try to avoid pain. At least I do. Some dentists advertise "pain-free dentistry," which I believe is an oxymoron. You may be pumped full of Novocain or nitrous oxide, but ultimately there will be some pain involved. When we want to get into better shape, we wonder if there is a way to work out without actually breaking a sweat. But we ultimately must face the truth of the adage, "No pain, no gain."
What is true of the dentist and the gym is also true of life. When we have pain in our lives, it reminds us of a deeper need: the need for God. A.W. Tozer said, "It is doubtful whether God can bless a man greatly until he has hurt him deeply." Take the apostle Paul for example. After his encounter with Jesus, Paul blazed a trail, leaving behind many churches and converts. Paul preached to philosophers, Pharisees, rulers, soldiers, sorcerers, sailors, slaves and most likely to Caesar himself. It is not an understatement to say that Paul changed his world. He was charged with the message of the gospel, and he brought it to his generation and did so brilliantly. As we look over his ministry, we know that God did miracles through Paul. We are aware of the fact that he wrote a great portion of the New Testament. We quote him frequently. He was God's man.
But there is another aspect of Paul's life that we sometimes forget about: He suffered. When God called Ananias to go and pray for Paul after his conversion, Ananias was a bit resistant. But God told him, "I will show him how much he must suffer for my name" (Acts 9:16 NIV). That gets missed sometimes. We think of Paul the preacher, Paul the writer and Paul the miracle worker, but we tend to overlook Paul, the man who suffered.
Those in leadership have all suffered in varying degrees. They have been second-guessed and have been the victims of gossip and sometimes slander. They have even been threatened. Some have lost their lives. http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=210533
0 comments:
Post a Comment