TUCKED AWAY FOR FUTURE REFERENCE

Today, Monday, was not a good day.  Not only was I drained emotionally, mentally and spiritually from preaching yesterday, but physically I just did not (do not) feel well.  Nothing hurts, and there are no sharp pains.  The best way I know to describe it is I just feel 'blah.'  My devotion time was nothing dramatic.  My prayer time was nothing monumental.  I had my personal time with the Lord, because I know I needed to, but I must be honest and say that I didn't come away with some fresh, new revelation from the mail room of Heaven. 

Fast forward to late-evening.  I'm still feeling "blah,' and have taken more than 5000 mg of odorless garlic (which is a natural antibiotic by the way), as well as loaded up on Vitamin C, Zinc, and my daily multivitamin.  But, guess what, I still feel "blah."  While surfing through some of my favorite blogs, I came across one from one of my spiritual heroes.  I have never heard him preach when God didn't do a work in my heart.  I have never read his books without feeling that the ink was still wet on the page with a fresh word from God for my soul.  I am referring to Chuck Swindoll, former President of Dallas Theological Seminary, the voice of Insight for Living radio, and current pastor of Stonebriar Community Church in Dallas.

His blog post was "good news from a far country."  It was a "word fitly spoken" like "apples of gold."  Once again God had used this dear man of God to be a voice, not an echo.  I am taking the liberty to post a portion of his blog below.  I pray it will speak to you as it did to me.

"In the ministry, monotony and mediocrity often mesh like teeth in gears. One spawns the other, leaving us yawning, bored, and adrift.  In referring to monotony, I do not have in mind a lack of activity as much as a lack of purpose. Even as pastors, we can be busy yet bored, involved yet indifferent. Ministry can become tediously repetitious, dull, humdrum, pedestrian.  In a word, blah.

Look into the faces of fellow pastors when they’re not in the pulpit. Talk to other ministers on their day off. Those on the mission field are equally susceptible. Show me an individual who once soared, whose ministry was characterized by enthusiasm and excellence—but who no longer reaches those heights—and I’ll show you a person who has probably become a victim of the blahs.

A blah attack may sound harmless, but it can leave us in an emotional heap, seriously questioning if ministry—and at times, if life—is worth it.  Yet even during your drab and seemingly meaningless assignments of the pastorate, God is there! From your yesterday to your tomorrow—God cares. From the little involvements to the big ones—God knows. From the ministerial duties that will never make the headlines (which seem to be mere busywork), all the way to those things that gain international attention—God is engaged!

So the next time you feel those clammy, cold fingers of the blahs reaching around you, you can pray along with me: “From yesterday until tomorrow, You, O Lord, are there. You care!”

  (Chuck Swindoll, Insight for Living Blog, November 9, 2010)

I needed this word today, and I have also tucked it away for future reference.

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Steve