You say "tomahto"...
So, as I was driving back from my 3.25 days of family time and relaxation in Knoxville, I was zooming along feeling the wind in my hair and doing a lot of thinking and praying, as one is apt to do on solo road trips. One of my prayers has long been that I would be used by God. That God would use me. For some reason, this time as I prayed that phrase, I was struck by the nuance hidden in my heart.
I want God to use me. Partly because, in my own mind, that's kind of a pinnacle of Christianity---to be recognized as being someone used by God. You know, like the Billy Grahams, the Lottie Moons, the Beth Moores, the Rich Mullinses of the Inner Circle. Used by God to influence people for the glory of God. But also receiving recognition by their peers. THAT'S the part that intrigues my traitor heart, which desires its own glory and praise.
So as I'm toodling along, praying my pious prayer to be used by God, the irony of my own motivation strikes me. And I realize that my better prayer is that I may be useful to God. My mind then goes from imagining myself dropping jewels of wisdom into the waiting ears and hearts of my fellow believers or standing in front of multitudes, influencing and persuading them, to hoping that the way I live my life, respond to Truth, and love others can somehow, in some way, be of some use in accomplishing the purposes of my Lord.
Father, I pray that you would use me.
Father, I pray that I may be useful to you.
Semantics? Maybe. But for me, a lesson.
posted by Lorie @ 9:46 AM
23 Comments:
I think Adelaide Pollard said it well. She believed the Lord wanted her in Africa as a missionary, but she was unable to raise funds to go. In an uncertain state of mind, she attended a prayer meeting, where she heard an elderly woman pray, “It’s all right, Lord. It doesn’t matter what You bring into our lives, just have Your own way with us.” At home that night, much encouraged, she wrote this hymn.
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Thou art the Potter, I am the clay.
Mold me and make me after Thy will,
While I am waiting, yielded and still.
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Search me and try me, Master, today!
Whiter than snow, Lord, wash me just now,
As in Thy presence humbly I bow.
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Wounded and weary, help me, I pray!
Power, all power, surely is Thine!
Touch me and heal me, Savior divine.
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Hold o’er my being absolute sway!
Fill with Thy Spirit ’till all shall see
Christ only, always, living in me.
Isaiah 64:8 We are the clay, You are the Potter; we are all the work of Your hand
I think you're on to something Lorie
That's so cool! Thanks for sharing. I love that prayer:
"It's all right, Lord. It doesn't matter what you bring into our lives, just have your own way with us."
Wow.
One of the most overlooked and underused tools to help us worship God: the good ole’ Baptist hymnal. It’s full of little treasures like "Have Thine Own Way" and this-
"Take up thy cross and follow Me," I heard my Master say;
"I gave My life to ransom thee, Surrender your all today."
Wherever He leads I'll go, Wherever He leads I'll go,
I'll follow my Christ who loves me so, Wherever He leads I'll go.
He drew me closer to His side, I sought His will to know,
And in that will I now abide, Wherever He leads I'll go.
Wherever He leads I'll go, Wherever He leads I'll go,
I'll follow my Christ who loves me so, Wherever He leads I'll go.
It may be thru' the shadows dim, Or o'er the stormy sea,
I take my cross and follow Him, Wherever He leadeth me.
Wherever He leads I'll go, Wherever He leads I'll go,
I'll follow my Christ who loves me so, Wherever He leads I'll go.
My heart, my life, my all I bring To Christ who loves me so;
he is my Master, Lord, and King, Wherever He leads I'll go.
Wherever He leads I'll go, Wherever He leads I'll go,
I'll follow my Christ who loves me so, Wherever He leads I'll go.
the perplexing question that I struggle with is,how does one determine when it is the Spirit leading or when it is it the ego (and let's face it, Christians or not, our selfish natures still crave our backs to be patted by those around us) leading one to "do something for the Lord."
Sometimes the way we say things makes all the difference.
Good thoughts!
Dorky is speaking my language with all that hymn-talk.
Anon,
That's a good question. And one, I think, not easily answered. Sometimes I think we may desire to do something out of selfish ambition or vain conceit and God can still use it for good, conforming us to his image in the process. Sometimes he frustrates our plans and intentions and lays bare our hearts with all their ugliness so we can repent, thus conforming us to his image in the process.
But I do think that we are all called to examine ourselves and our motives in light of God's heart, truth and grace, realizing that our motives are rarely to never pure, but that God chooses to use broken vessels so that the credit for any and everything goes to him. Just because I may get some benefit or recognition through an act of service is not reason enough not to do it. The important thing is the attitude and position of my heart.
Mmm, good point, Lorie. I would add that our goal should always be to do something for the Lord with complete anonymity. The question, however, becomes, when is it ok to receive adulation from the pulpit for something we have done?--name recognition, names printed in newsletters, names on church buildings in honor of, etc. Is there a point when acknowledgment from our Christian community turns into pompus praise. I suppose that there is no objective line, but rather each person must, as you said, examine the attitude and position of one's heart when serving the Lord.
And Paul gave props to people in his letters all the time. I mean, even God called himself the God "of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob". So I don't think there's anything inherently wrong in recognition. It's still a matter of discernment, for sure.
Who are you, pray tell? It'd be nice to know.
Why should anonymity be the goal? If the reason you are doing something for the Lord is in the end to glorify yourself, does it really matter if you do it anonymously or identified? How does this work? When Paul wrote Romans, should it have read -- “Anonymous, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be anonymous and set apart for the gospel of God…”? I don’t believe that when Oswald Chambers wrote all of the amazing devotionals that make My Utmost for His Highest and then put his name on the cover of the book, he did it in order to receive personal recognition and acclaim so that someone could say “look at the brain on Oswald”. If you want to do something to serve the Lord and remain anonymous, it should be because that is what you believe God has laid on your heart. If you want to do something to serve the Lord and not care if you are recognized one way or the other, it should be because that is what you believe God has laid on your heart. For me the most important think to remember is: who is the servant and who is this servant serving.
There is a certain amount of irony in your post, Different Anonymoms. Since, well, you're anonymous.
Sorry, couldn't resist. But you bring up a good point.
I knew that was coming, Bobby. I chose to be anonymous (I just realized I misspelled that previously. “Anonymoms” – sounds like a group of women that bond together to fight some kind of cultural issue) because “that’s what God laid on my heart”. Actually it was for different reasons but you can call me Dorky.
Dorky:
Yeah, I'm a sucker for pointing out irony. It comes with being a smart aleck. But anyway, good thoughts.
Bobby-
You're preaching to the choir, brother.
Different Anon-
My point in my previous blog is that when one sets out to do something for the Lord, his or her goal should be to bring recognition to the Lord, not oneself. If I want to do something for the Lord, and in the back of my mind I want, or I think I am somehow worthy of recognition for what I have done, then I have fallen into sinful motives, i.e., pride. The apostle Paul writing to the churches in Scripture is a little different category. He penned exactly what he was supposed to:) Let’s compare similar contexts or scenarios. Oswald is a good example. I do commend you on that one; however, if Oswald placed his name on any publication, and obviously at this point we have no way of knowing, but let us assume he didn’t do this, with a desire for people to see his name rather than the one he served, then he too would have fallen into sinful motives. My point is that we should never do something for the Lord so that we can be seen or praised by others.
Can I get a witness in here?
Oh, my anonymous brother (or sister), TESTIFY!
How's that for a witness?
Seriously, you are correct. We should always check our motives. I think the other side of that coin is in the realization that, in our own sinful condition, we will often fall short, whether in doing a good deed out of selfish ambition or doing some active act of sin, which should then drive us again to the cross, realizing that only by relying on Christ's righteousness will we ever be right with God.
And Christ is then there to forgive us and to draw us ever closer to Him, so that we'll be stronger next time.
So then, we REALIZE that our motives can be clouded, but we in no way EXCUSE it or accept it as something we don't need to repent of and allow Christ to work on.
Who ARE you people?! :)
We are pilgrims on a journey..taking it one day at a time sweet Jesus......Weelllll
Pilgrims, aliens and strangers in the world.
I found a passage in this one book, that I'm sure a couple of us have heard of, that sort of speaks to this blog topic. The book is called the Bible? It has some good stuff in it. It says in Matthew 6:1-4:
Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
You're right. If you are giving or serving in order "to be seen by them" then your motive is wrong.
Ya'll don't MAKE me go disenable anonymous comments...! Please. :)
I do think that we have to be honest and transparent to acknowledge, as has been alluded to if not stated here, that our motives are NEVER 100% pure. There is a danger in going too far in this discussion so that we become paralyzed and completely ineffective merely because there is SOME benefit in serving or giving, or because we actually ENJOY it or get recognized for it. God promises that we are and WILL be rewarded. He promises that our joy will be made full by loving and serving. So there is nothing inherently wrong in that. In fact, it should be a by product.
To beat a dead horse: it IS about the attitude of our hearts, knowing all the time that there WILL be some sense of self-satisfaction in doing what we're doing.
well sed sista, king--
wer i cum frum, thers korn bred an chickans
But apparently not spelling books... :)
I'm JUST kidding (I couldn't resist)!!!
Mmm...doesn't cornbread sound GOOD...?
my momma always say, i wuz countrie wen countrie waznt cool
mi name is bobby bouche
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