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Food for the Soul, devotionals to help you in your busy life, written by NEWIM board members and staff.
Filtering by Category: Devotional
If anyone in the Old Testament was confident, it was David. As a young man, he saw everything as God’s doing, no matter what was happening around him. Someone else might take a negative view of the same situation, only focusing on the problem and the reasons why it could not be resolved. David, however, would focus on the positive and view it from the perspective of his trust in God.
Read MoreWhen they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?” “Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,” Elisha replied.
—2 Kings 2:9 (NIV)
Of all the prophets there was never one more prolific than Elijah. He had raised the dead, spoken fire down from heaven and revealed a devastating drought coming from God. Many in that time probably thought there would never be another man of God like him, but we know that wasn’t the case. Moses was a strong leader who was replaced by Joshua. David was a man after God’s own heart yet Solomon completed the job his father was prevented from doing. Time after time we see God replacing a mighty leader with a successor who was doubly gifted. It was His will and His plan that was important, not necessarily the person in charge of it. Those leaders were not irreplaceable. God has limitless options at his fingertips to accomplish His plan and He will achieve His purpose.
One of the biggest pitfalls of being a leader is to believe we are indispensable in our role. The trap is set when we begin to do all the work ourselves, even if it is out of necessity. When this continually happens, pride can creep in and create the misconception that no one else can do the job as well. By hanging on too long we risk missing the privilege of partnering with God in planning our replacement. It is not a matter of if, but when God determines it is time to bring another leader on board. By failing to recognize the need for a succession plan, we become the problem rather than the solution. Ultimately it is His ministry that suffers.
The measure of a successful spiritual leader is not always the length of their service. No matter how long we lead, the serving is significant because it is for His glory not ours. Following God’s leading includes being prepared, even when that means it is time to pass the torch. He is trustworthy in everything, including His timing. The best thing we can do in our ministry is set ourselves up—for a good ending.
“Outstanding leaders pass the torch with fire blazing. Mediocre leaders pass a dimly lit torch. Poor leaders drop the torch making it difficult if not impossible to pick up again.”
—Reed Markham
Prayer is a normal part of a believer’s routine. We pray during worship services, for our food, before we fall asleep at night or when we wake up in the morning. We pray at Bible studies, in Sunday school and at prayer meetings. Yet when you look at these times spent “in prayer,” they are brief and short on content. Our busy lives make it easy to fall into the habit of grabbing a quick prayer time much like we grab a quick meal at a drive through. And those prayers can become like the dollar we put in a machine to buy a soft drink. Fast, easy and especially all about us. So what else is there?
Read More“In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they
may see you good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
—Matthew 5:16 (NIV)
Everyone knows the fairy tale of the pretty princess with the evil step-mother who stood before her magic looking glass every day. She asked the same question over and over again wanting the same answer every time. Her desire was that her reflection be the best.
As leaders, we want the same thing but for a different reason. Because we are not just leaders but believers too, the way we live, relate to others and lead is a direct reflection on Christ whose name we carry. This fact is very real to us in our ministry, but what about the other areas of our lives? What do others see as we drive down the street? When we are standing in a long check-out line, how is our reflection then? Does our image mirror God’s character to our neighbors?
Our reflection is extremely important in the way we live our lives. If we are unforgiving, we could be discouraging someone from seeking forgiveness from our Father. We could show such disrespect in our worship that those around us could lose their respect for Him as well. Even the way we handle the position of leadership could negatively impact another’s attitude toward the authority of God. Are we greedy for the limelight? Do we micro-manage our volunteers? Do we want the last say just because we want the power?
God’s Word indicates that glorifying our Father is essential and we can’t leave it to chance. Our nature is constantly impacted by the broken world in which we live. We need to diligently stand before the mirror of the Holy Spirit and ask daily, “How do I look?” This allows Him to examine our motives and reveal any inconsistency in our lives. The reality is our light is always shining. It is our responsibility to make sure it does not scald and injure, but is sincere and inviting in reflecting the glory of the Lord we serve.
“...ask yourself, “Who’s getting the glory in this ministry?” You see, if we do ministry
OUR way, it won’t be for His glory, because our ways are not His ways.”
—Charles Swindoll
“Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”
—Jeremiah 33:3
In the midst of a difficult situation, we may find ourselves qualifying our hope in the Lord and begin to lower our expectations of exactly what He will do. While we believe He can do anything, we fear or question what He can do through us. Moses' situation is a good example of this kind of doubt. When God revealed how He would orchestrate the greatest exodus in the history of the world using Moses as the facilitator, Scripture tells us Moses—incredibly—argued with God. He made excuses. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe God could do the miraculous work but Moses doubted God could do it through him. Unfortunately, this ultimately limited Moses’ ministry for the rest of his life.
Fear is human but it can keep us from experiencing God’s work in unexpected ways. While the context of the verse above in Jeremiah is about the Jews, we can also apply the importance of its implication to ease any doubts we may be feeling. Just “call to Him” and He will answer. No magic words or complicated process. We can always expect Him to do what He says.
When it comes to God’s objectives for our lives, fear has no place. We are not alone because God is with us. We are not inadequate because God is our sufficiency. We are not useless because God has a purpose for us. He is trustworthy. Believe and anticipate as you follow His leading. His grace will be sufficient, His strength will be generous, His provision will be perfect, His peace will be steadfast and His presence will be plenty.
“Feed your fears and your faith will starve. Feed your faith, and your fears will.”
—Max Lucado
