S57P11 – Lessons from captivity: God will not shame his servants
Exo. 14:30-31
Thus Jehovah saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea-shore. And Israel saw the great work which Jehovah did upon the Egyptians, and the people feared Jehovah: and they believed in Jehovah, and in his servant Moses.
Their aim was singular; they wanted to fulfill what God had commanded them to do. Of course, this job was not about only them. They were called to lead the body of Christ, and their decisions did not impact just themselves. As they made the big move to the new church, the process was not without its problems. Even before the move there was disagreement among the members regarding where they should go or whether they should go at all. Some began to question the pastors’ leading and discernment because things did not always appear how they expected. Ultimately, God would lead that church to incredible growth and impact on the community, driving away any doubt in him or in his servants’ vision.
When we make the decision to follow God’s leading, we need not be concerned about feeling foolish or being shamed. It might regularly be the case that others doubt what we have heard from God or whether we hear from him at all. God sometimes calls us to that which seems anything but ordinary, but this should not phase us. We have too many examples to show us that we often will not know what to expect of him. When the naysayers start to question our discernment or decisions, we can be confident that God will set the record straight. It is not for us to justify ourselves or prove a point. God will reveal in his time his plan and purposes, and that will silence the critics.
It can be difficult to keep ourselves from taking personally the criticisms we receive from others who doubt what God called us to do. It is too easy to fall into the trap of trying to justify ourselves to these critics and prove that we are on the right track. That can be a great distraction from simply doing the work to which God has called us. If we understand that the point is simply to honor God and fulfill is will, then we will leave it to him to show that what He has asked of us is good and right. Let us be concerned not with the judgment of others but with the pleasure of the Lord. Father, thank You for calling us to do your work and for proving that what we hear from You is true.