Yesterday we had a meeting about bible study leaders for the Graduate Christian Fellowship. And I have to admit I'm a little nervous about our 3rd study. Mike is planning on one, Brad and I are doing another. But there is only a faint idea of a third study. And myself, always way ahead of the game, would've rather had this decided in May. So for me, this is way late.
But I am learning to have faith to let leaders come forth... that God would call them out in their gifts and leanings and allow them to express their gifts in service to the Lord.
Letting Our Hearts
1 How lovely is your dwelling place,
O LORD Almighty!
2 My soul yearns, even faints,
for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and my flesh cry out
for the living God. (Psalm 84:1-2)
8 I will listen to what God the LORD will say;
he promises peace to his people, his saints—
but let them not return to folly (Psalm 85:8)
1 Hear, O LORD, and answer me,
for I am poor and needy.
2 Guard my life, for I am devoted to you.
You are my God; save your servant
who trusts in you.
3 Have mercy on me, O Lord,
for I call to you all day long.
4 Bring joy to your servant,
for to you, O Lord,
I lift up my soul. (Psalm 86:1-4)
10 For you are great and do marvelous deeds;
you alone are God.
11 Teach me your way, O LORD,
and I will walk in your truth;
give me an undivided heart,
that I may fear your name.
12 I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart;
I will glorify your name forever.
13 For great is your love toward me;
you have delivered me from the depths of the grave. (Psalm 86:10-13)
In these Psalms I hear a lot of beautiful reflections of the Lord's servant David. So why not? First we have David referring to himself as the Lord's servant. In the DR, I'll never forget that certain sisters in the church would called themselves, 'your servant', maybe giving their name or not. But either way, they reminded themselves that they were servants of the Lord and so servants of the world... His hands and feet to whoever they would encounter. I also hear a heart's desire and a 'yearning' such a strong desire. I don't know if I've ever desired something so much to say that I 'yearned' for it, but that is what we should feel for the Lord with an 'undivided heart,' dedicating our whole heart to Him every morning. I also hear promises to listen to God and to learn His ways. So many parts of what we need in leaders are perhaps in their hearts and spiritual lives- the yearning, the desire, the servanthood, the prayer, and the obedience to His teachings.
For me the decision to take a small group and lead a Romans study wasn't that difficult. I was asked, I saw a need, and I responded to that need. There really wasn't a question in my mind. I learned early that we are servants; we respond to the needs of others when we are called. And I wanted to give back the beautiful gift that Brad and Andrew had given to me in their inspiring study the year before; I wanted to pay it forward. Even though I would've liked to continue going to a Brad's study, I knew this was important. I was a little nervous at first. I'd led studies, but not for incredibly intelligent intellectualizers such as grad students tend to be. I knew how to enjoy the scripture, how to apply the scripture, how to build a community. But, when I learned to give it to God, it turned out to be so beautiful and wonderful... meeting and learning from such a great group of kids who I love dearly now. God brought joy to His servant's life.
Letting Our Gifts
3For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. 4Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his[b]faith. 7If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully. (Romans 12:3-8)
And yes, this was what stood out to me this morning. As I was praying for God to send forth leaders, I heard Romans 12 differently. It does not say, "If a man's gift is ___, make him ____." No. Quite the contrary. In fact these gifts only need to be 'letted.' Ok, so that's not proper English. They only need to be allowed or encouraged. Because if we have a true gift that is from God, it happens naturally. I have those in my study last year who showed amazing energy and encouragement. I never told Jess, "Ok, you be encouraging." And there are those who are so knowledgeable about the scriptures and helpful to the study. Yet I never told Joseph, "Be edifying." And there are those who are amazingly fun and great a building Christian community. Yet I never said, "Blake, build community." And there are those who are comforting friends and guiding lights. But I never said, "Jenn, be comforting." And I can never forget my dear friend Kammy who is the most joyful woman of God you will ever meet. She is who I think of as the embodiment of the Lord's joy, and never did I say to her, "Kammy, be joyful." When we allow people to bring their gifts forth, when we encourage them and thank them for the gifts they share, when we pray for God to use the gifts He has given to each one, we 'let' God's will be done in a beautiful way.
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