The Last Woman Standing

Last Sunday, as I headed down to PlanetShakers church for a relaxing and inspiring afternoon, I prayed. Lord, please give us a message that will encourage us today. And encourage us he did. The speaker was Pastor Brian Houston from Hillsong church, and he spoke about taking new ground and the challenges we face in the process.

The message meant a lot to us because although we are making progress, we are facing (and have faced) some pretty difficult challenges - some of these hitting very close to home. But it was confirmed to me through that message that I should just keep pushing on (to be the last woman standing, if you like), because great things are ahead. In the meantime God will help us as we grapple with some of these issues and to grow as a result.

Pour Me Out

I'm a little tea pot
Short and stout

Here is my handle;
Here is my spout

When I get all steamed up,
Then I shout!

Tip me over,
Pour me out.


Forgetting the part about getting all steamed up (I do not consider unrestrained anger as being compatible with ministry!), I don't think my current situation is dissimilar to that of the humble tea pot.

Here I am, Lord; use all of me. Today you stretched me by placing me in a ministry I didn't think I could do, but you did a bit of a miracle and used me for the benefit of your Church. I'm glad to be used by you, for your glory alone.

In a small church, it tends to be "all hands on deck", and today was no exception. We find ourselves serving in all kinds of ways; some we never thought we would venture into.

But God is good; despite what skills we think we do or don't have, all he wants us to do is trust and surrender to Him.

Any person, if they are willing clay in His hands, can help to build His Church; and that is a precious thing to God.

Unstoppable

"For the Lord Almighty has purposed,
and who can thwart him?"

Isaiah 14:27

I thank God that no-one can stop what He has planned; least of all me.

Things have been a little tough in the past week; various challenges and loneliness have threatened to shut me down. Yet while I was floundering, God was at work, as he picked me up and set me back on the course He has for me. I am so thankful that I serve the God who gives up on nobody; who in all things works for the good of those who love Him.

The Battle Lines Are Drawn

Now that things are beginning to happen with our youth ministry, I am beginning to see just what sort of battle we will have here. It seems that there are a lot of people who have been hurt and/or alienated from the Church. Sadly, many of these have found ways to go on with their lives, perhaps still having some belief in God, but being separated from the bigger family of God.

Along with that, I think there is a reluctance in some people to trust the Church again, or perhaps a reluctance to commit themselves once again for fear of being hurt. I am also dealing with a whole generation of young people for whom church has seemed irrelevant. Gathering these young people together is going to be (and has already proved) a challenge. I will have to ask God how to care for these people in the best way; how to help them to seek Him for healing from all of their wounds, emotionally, spiritually.

It is just as well I'm not doing this on my own. I'm serving a great big God. He is leading me as to how to go about this task, and He will give me the strength and courage to complete what He has called me to do. Bit by bit, day by day, this vision He has given me will come to pass. And I'll be gladly able to say, in perhaps twelve months time or later, that God alone has done it, because I could never do it on my own.

Transition

God spoke wonderful words of comfort to me while I was in church this morning. At the moment the best word I could use to describe my life is "mess". Lots of good things are happening, but in this time of transition and change, I sometimes feel lost in all of it. I'm going through intense spiritual struggles - funny, I thought things would get easier over time; they don't - you just get more and more challenged as you give more of your life to God. Every area of my life is being stretched and tested as God shapes me for the tasks ahead. I see a lot of obstacles and problems; I can do nothing but give them to God and trust Him to provide.

It is good to be in the hands of a loving God, who disciplines us because he cares for us deeply. It's just a difficult time. But as I reach through the darkness and cling to God, I know he carries me through. I rest in His hands of grace, and while the world rushes around me, I hear His voice:

"Come," He said, "And I will show you the view from the mountain top...".