On The Shelf

It is amazing (and also embarrassing) what you can discover when you rearrange. I recently bought two new 5-shelf bookcases. I had determined to replace the unsightly counter/shelf/desk-like THING that held most of the home schooling materials in our living room. I found items I thought I had lost, things I never knew I had, and 2 books that I forgot I still had (sorry, Toni). All of the rearranging of books on the new shelves made me think of sitting on the shelf.

Ever feel like maybe God has set you on a shelf? Oh, at one time your ministry was clear. You got your marching orders from the Lord, and were in the thick of the battle for Him. You were on the front lines. But right at this moment, it seems like you are not being used by Him as much as you thought you would be. You followed His plan, and you are confident that He brought you to this place, but now what? He brought you here. That you know. Why? What now? He is not altogether forthcoming with that information, and we want to know it all! The big picture is alright, but we want to know the details. Give us the whole story, Lord, so we can fit into it.

That is usually not how God chooses to work. You see, we would fit into it the way we want to, or the way we think is best. God wants us to take His hand and walk with Him, even when we don’t know where He is going or how He intends to get there.

Remember Gideon and the 300 soldiers that were outnumbered? (Check out the story in Judges chapter 7) Remember the Israelites up against the Red Sea? (Look in Exodus chapter 14) Remember the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant through the Jordan River during flood stage? (Read Joshua chapter 3).

Driving through town the other day, I saw a mother and a toddler walking across the street. I wondered where they were going. There were no stores or businesses in the close vicinity. Were they just out for a pleasure walk, or were they going to a specific location? I presume the mother knew, but the toddler, hand in mom’s, simply followed along, trusting the hand she was holding.

The enemy of our soul can sometimes tempt us to become discouraged or depressed, if we are not in a season of being in the middle of some large ministry or a lot of activity. We do have seasons in our life, and that is a purposeful plan of the Lord for our lives. We need times of intense activity, and times of rest and refreshing. What we do not need is to think that, during a season of rest or refreshing, God does not, or will not, or can not use us. That is a lie from the father of lies, designed to defeat us and cause us to question God’s power in the lives of His children. If Satan can convince us that we are not worthy or capable of being used by God (His power within us) we will become powerless. A main obstacle of our living with the Lord in victory is DOUBT.

This past week, our family was blessed with a major gift. I was thanking the person who gave it, when he said, “It is only what Jesus would do.” And he was right. He did what Jesus would do.

The next time you feel like you are “on the shelf”, just hold God’s hand a little tighter, walk along with Him without doubting that He is willing and able to use you as He wishes, and keep filling your life with doing the things Jesus would do.