Woke up this dark and snowy morning to hearing a bird singing its little heart out. The Lord reminded me of Psalm 42:8 which says, “By day the Lord commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life.” At night God’s song is with me; there’s a lot of hope in that truth.
Oftentimes we can believe the lie that the Lord can only use us in ministry when we are feeling strong in our faith…which is a wrong thought on multiple levels. One way that it is wrong is that it goes against the very heart of the Lord. He not only uses the weak, but He delights in using them (us!). In fact, that is part of the beauty of the Lord’s design of the church. By being fragile jars of clay together we can walk with one another in what someone called our “mutual burdensomeness” as we look to Jesus who is “the founder and perfector of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2).
This week I’ve been feeling very weak in many ways, not the least being homesick and feeling the weariness of the Covid lockdown restraints on getting to know people in the community. To be weak and sorrowful is a vulnerable place to be in, and it hurts. But this is the time that the Lord has provided, and I pray that I will be able to embrace it with gratitude and joy. May this burdensome time even serve as a witness to our scheme as they see our little launch time seeking to love one another well in the midst of it – and as they see the Lord faithfully sustaining us and giving us the strength to trust Him a step at a time.
“The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything…” (Philippians 4:5-6)
So if you are limping or even crawling right now as you follow Jesus, take heart. On the dark, snowy mornings of the soul we can sing our hearts out knowing that we are the Lord’s and the Lord is with us. And He delights to show His worthiness, His goodness, His gentleness, His power through our weakness. Maybe the best ministry you can be doing now isn’t what we expect “ministry” to look like. Maybe it’s a life lived on our knees – a life of prayer, trust, full dependance…a faithful, long obedience in the same direction.
To Jesus, not to us, be the glory for our lives and ministries. He’s the one that will keep us to the end.
At night His song is with us,
Claire
Claire in Scotland 