The Progress of a Pilgrim

I went for a walk on the beach the other night. I don't do that often enough anymore...and I had a deep thought. A very deep thought.

I realized that I have been guilty of the "I'll be happy when--" syndrome. You all know what I'm talking about. The thought that lurks somewhere in the back of your mind (or perhaps right in the forefront) that says, "When _______ happens, I'll be much happier/things will be better/God will REALLY be able to use me." Insert whatever into the blanks, like dating, marriage, better job, bigger responsibilities, fewer responsibilities, more friends...

I realized that somewhere in my head, there's been a sense of anticipation that this is not all there is. "There's more out there," "I'm moving on to something bigger and better," etc, and the result of those thoughts has been a general feeling of discontent. I begin to feel unsatisfied with my current situation (which is not at all a bad one, by the way), and I start to think that I'll feel much better when the situation changes...that I'll be more effective for the Kingdom when I'm really doing what I'm good at doing, and none of this extraneous, boring stuff...

Wrong-O.

Philippians 4:12--Let's read this one out loud together, shall we?
"...for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Him who gives me strength."

Have you ever thought, "Yeah, yeah," when hearing that verse? I don't mean that in a bad way--I just mean that it seems so impossible sometimes! So don't get the idea that I've got this one figured out...it's a very difficult concept to really embrace and live out. The point is, I need to be content right where I'm at. God can use me just as much here as He can somewhere else--just in different ways than what I was planning on.

Sometimes, because of my love for performance that creeps in every now and then, I judge the effectiveness of my ministry based on how many people are standing in front of me. However, I don't think God looks at how many people are listening to me. I think He looks at whether or not I'm ministering to people, no matter where I am or how many there are. You can do more good encouraging one coworker sometimes than singing a song in front of a thousand people. Wherever you're at, are you ministering to people?

God knows the desires of your heart. He knows them intimately and He cares about them. But no matter where you are, there's always going to be the "dirty work" that you don't want to do--the boring, tedious, management stuff that you just have to do. So suck it up and do it.

Back to my feeling of anticipation. I don't think this is a bad thing. Psalms 84:5-7 refers to people who "have their hearts set on pilgrimage...[who] go from strength to strength, til each appears before God in Zion."

We should always be moving onward spiritually. We should always be changing, by God's hand. We should be moving from "strength to strength" and have our hearts "set on pilgrimage"--to the next thing God is going to do in our lives! That does not necessarily mean that we're always waiting for God to bless us or give us more. I think it's more like we're anticipating God to use us again--soon! Some people have visions of the new places, be them literal or spiritual, that God is calling them to. Naeem did, and now he's following that call to start a church in Charlotte.

So, we must be content with where we are now, but we also need to be ready for God to uproot us from our comfort zones and move on to the next "strength". How do we do that? Where is the balance?

Who knows. But here's a great quote from Jim Elliot: "Wherever you are, be all there."

Wherever God has placed you RIGHT NOW, be all there. Work at it "as unto the Lord". Be content until He moves you onto the next thing.

I've got a sense of anticipation...but I'm here to stay until God moves me on.