“I form the light and create darkness, I bring
prosperity and create disaster; I, the LORD, do all these things”
(Isa 45:7).

God will use pain in order to create a love relationship with
His creation. This statement may challenge your theology. However,
consider that God allowed Jesus to experience incredible pain in
order to create an opportunity to have a relationship with His
creation. Consider how Jesus created a relationship with Paul. He
blinded him and used a crisis in his life in order to bring him
into a relationship with him and use him for God’s purposes.
Consider how God recruited Jonah for the mission He had for him.

This is not God’s first choice for His creation. Romans 2:4
reveals that God’s preference is to show mercy and kindness: “Or
do you show contempt for the riches of His kindness, tolerance and
patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward
repentance?” The problem is there are few people who respond
to the goodness of God. God loves people more than He loves their
comfort. He invests a great deal into mankind. He desires
relationship with us and will go to great lengths to create such a
relationship in order for us to receive the rewards and
inheritance He has for us.

I have observed this process in the scriptures in working with
people through years of ministry. I have noticed three distinct
stages. First, we live based on convenience. Our obedience is
largely based on circumstances in our lives. We choose to obey
based on the circumstances.

The second stage is the crisis stage. God allows a crisis to
come into our lives. We are motivated to obey God in order to get
out of the pain of our situation. Many times God allows us to stay
in this condition in order to demonstrate His love and
faithfulness during our pain. Gradually, we discover something new
about God and often have a personal encounter with Him that
changes us. Our very nature is affected by this God-encounter.

This begins to move us into a third phase that is a
relationship that is motivated now by love and devotion instead of
pain. This is where God desires us to be. Another way of saying
this is we are no longer seeking His hand. We are seeking Him. We
want to know God personally.

Obedience will not last when the motivation is only the removal
of our pain. Obedience only lasts when the motivation is loving
devotion. Where are you in your obedience and what is the primary
motivation? If it isn’t love, why not tell the Lord you love Him
today and want to know Him for who He is and not for what He can
do for you.

Have you ever felt like you have been obedient to the Lord for something He called you to do and all you get are more roadblocks? This is the way Moses felt. When Moses went to tell Pharaoh to release the people because God said so, Pharaoh simply got angry and made the people make bricks without straw. Moses caught the blame for this from the people. Moses was just learning what obedience really means in God’s Kingdom. You see Moses had not even begun to release plagues upon Egypt. He hadn’t even gotten started yet in his calling, and he was complaining about his circumstances. There were many more encounters with Pharaoh to come, and many more plagues with no deliverances in sight. Why would God tell Moses that He is going to deliver them and not do it?

It was all in timing. God never said when He was going to deliver. He just said He would. In the next chapter, we find Moses arguing with God about not being capable of the job God had called him to:

But Moses said to the Lord, “If the Israelites will not listen to me, why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I speak with faltering lips?” Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron about the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt, and He commanded them to bring the Israelites out of Egypt (Exodus 6:12-13).

Do you get the feeling God was losing His patience?

God had a good reason for His delays. He said, “And the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I stretch out My hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it” (Ex. 7:5). God not only wanted the people of Israel but also the Egyptians to know Him. It would be the greatest show of God’s power on earth.

God often causes delays in our lives that we cannot understand. Sometimes it seems our obedience is not getting rewarded. Jesus said He learned obedience through the things He suffered (see Heb. 5:8). Imagine that – Jesus having to learn obedience. What does that say for you and me? Sometimes God’s delays are simply because He wants more glory in the situation, more recognition, more Christ-likeness in you and me through greater patience and obedience. Faint not, for the promise may yet come.

“‘Come, follow me,’ Jesus said, ‘and I will make you
fishers of men.’” At once they left their nets and followed
him (Matt 4:19-20).

Do you recall how good it felt when you were chosen to be on a
team? It makes one feel special to be preferred over another.

During the time of Jesus rabbis’ were well known in their
community. Each rabbi had a following of students. Jesus was
developing as a “superstar” rabbi. He was unlike the
others. He did things differently. He often confronted the
accepted thinking of other rabbis and Pharisees. The younger men
had great respect for Jesus, the rabbi. To be selected by Jesus
would be a great honor because most rabbis would usually select
only the cream of the crop in the community as their disciples. By
these standards, Peter and the other disciples would not have
qualified. But Jesus had a purpose in mind for Peter and the
disciples.

God is the one who calls people into relationship with Himself
and to their calling in life. It is for His purposes, not ours.
Jesus chose each of his disciples from the workplace instead of
the rabbinical schools. They did not choose Jesus, Jesus chose
them and it was deemed a great honor in their culture to be chosen
by such a rabbi (Jn 15:16).

Jesus called you into relationship with Himself because His
desire is for you to be a faithful priest in your work life,
family, and city. “I will raise up for myself a faithful
priest, who will do according to what is in my heart and mind.”
(1 Samuel 2:35). He desires that you be a willing participant in
his agenda. He has not called you for your purposes, but His.

Sometimes we think it’s all about us. It has to be all about
Him in order for us to fulfill what is in His heart and mind for
His overall plan for His Kingdom. He doesn’t need us, but He has
chosen to use us.

God has an agenda for planet earth. He has chosen you and me as
the primary instrument for accomplishing His plan. Are you willing
to be his faithful priest and king to do what is in His heart and
mind? Why not say “yes” to His agenda.

When Jesus came into this world, He chose to be born in a most unusual place-a manger. It was no more than a livery stable with goats, oxen, and other livestock animals. There is a distinctive characteristic about a place like this. It is filled with odors and dung from the animals. God seems to work best among the unpleasantness of circumstances. In fact, “where there are no oxen, the manger is empty.” What is this really saying? I believe it is saying that in order for Jesus to be present, we must invite those things that bring with them “messes to clean up.” God works among the messy things in our lives. And from these messes come an abundant harvest. This is what He did with all His highly used servants in the Bible. God is filled with paradoxes. Why can’t life be seamless and smooth? Because God likes to show Himself in the midst of the messes of life. This is what brings us into the harvests. So often the bigger the mess, the bigger the harvest.

When a major road-construction project takes place in a crowded city street, it appears to be absolute chaos. It is inconvenient, slow-moving and tends to get us irritated because it appears we are moving much slower than we would like. It is ugly, and so much of what we see is torn up. But when we look at that same area a few months or years later, we see why the construction was necessary. There was meaning to the mess. It actually made life so much better for those who would use the road.

It has been through the messiest of times in my business and personal life that God has revealed His power and strength in my life. It was when these “oxen” of hardship have walked into my manger that the greatest harvest was manifest. However, when I have sought to remove the “oxen” and rid myself of the odor and the mess, I have fought the ultimate work of God.

God works in mangers.

“He reveals the deep things of darkness and brings deep
shadows into the light” (Job 12:22).

One of the great mysteries of the Kingdom is how God uses the
darkest times in our lives to reveal greater depths of
understanding of His ways. The only way we can receive these
deeper things is to be driven to the depths of darkness. It is
here that we discover important truths that He plans to use in our
lives and the lives of others.

There is a process God uses to draw us into greater levels of
intimacy. The first phase involves a depth of soul experience that
causes great pain in our lives. We seek God for deliverance from
the incredible emotional pain this causes. Our primary motivation
for seeking God is to get out of our pain.

During this time, God meets us in the depths of darkness. We
discover that He never left us but is in the midst of the
darkness. We develop a new relationship with God. Gradually our
motivation turns from removal of pain to love and intimacy with
God. This is the place our Heavenly Father desires us to be.

During this season God will make spiritual deposits into your
life. Others will be making withdrawals in the future from your
life as well. You see, God reveals deep things in darkness that
will be revealed in the light.

If you find yourself in great distress, know that God will
bring your deep shadows into the light. The key to your
deliverance is becoming satisfied in God. He becomes your all. He
is your life. You will know your deliverance is near when your
circumstances simply don’t matter to you anymore.

Love the Lord your God with all your soul and see what things
He will show you in the deep things of darkness.

A friend of mine tells the story of an encounter he had with a very important government official – the head of state for a country. In the course of some meetings with my friend, the official came up to him and said, “I perceive that there is a difference between you and me. Is it because I come from a different denomination?” My friend began to explain why there was a difference.

“If you were to come to my home, I would invite you in as an honored guest. As my guest, you would enjoy everything I had in my home. However, you would still be a guest. You would not have the keys to the home, and your authority in that home would be merely as a guest. However, if I said to you that I am turning over my home to you and you now have the keys to my home, I would be your servant.” My friend continued, “This is the difference between you and me. You have merely invited Jesus into your home as a guest. I have given Jesus the keys to my home [heart] and I am his servant.”

“How can I do this too?” the man replied.

“All you have to do is invite Him in as the new owner.”

The man did this and is now allowing Jesus to rule and reign in every detail of his life.

So often many of us enter a relationship with God that brings us salvation. This is the gospel of salvation. But what God really desires for us is to experience the gospel of the Kingdom. He wants us to experience His power and presence every day of our lives and to see His hand at work in us. This only happens when we give Him the key to our life; He must be more than an honored guest.

Where are you today? Has your life with God been more like an honored-guest relationship, or does He have the key to your life?

“Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather
the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it
will pour out its water” (Num 20:7-8).

The Bible says that Moses had a unique walk with God. God said
Moses was the most humble man on earth and He spoke with him face
to face (Num 12:3 and Exodus 3:11).

When Moses met God at the burning bush God said, “Moses,
I’m going to perform miracles through your staff.” And He
did. He turned his staff into a snake. He brought plagues upon the
nation and even parted the Red Sea with his staff. He even struck
the rock with his staff to bring forth water.

But later, God called Moses to operate on a new level. Instead
of using his workplace tool (his staff) to perform miracles, God
was calling Moses to manifest the miracle through his words.
“Speak to the rock Moses!” But Moses, frustrated by the
stiff-necked people, struck the rock instead out of anger.
Amazingly and in spite of his disobedience, God still allowed
Moses to get water out of the rock. God will often work through
your anointing, even when you do it in your flesh, just for the
sake of others. But beware my friend, it will be at a great cost.
Like Moses, you will not enter your promised land and may lose
your inheritance.

God is calling us to manifest breakthroughs by operating at
times as God did–by speaking to the problem. Be available to the
Holy Spirit at times when God calls you to use your authority in
your calling to manifest His power in a situation that needs a
breakthrough.

Friend, God is calling you to manifest His Kingdom through a
higher level of relationship with Him. Are you willing?

Most workplace believers I know tend to be task – oriented, motivated visionaries. And they will do just about anything to make their projects successful. This great strength can, if not properly bridled by the Holy Spirit, be a great weakness in their ability to fulfill God’s will in their life.

Sometimes we want something to succeed so much that we fail to listen to that little voice inside trying to warn us by directing us on a different path. Such was the case of Balaam. He started out as a man of God, but then took the path of a “prophet-for-hire.” God was not pleased with Balaam’s decision to respond to a pagan king’s request that he curse Israel. As Balaam rode his donkey to keep his appointment with the king, God sent the angel of the Lord to stand in the way and oppose Balaam. Although Balaam did not see the angel, his donkey did. Three times the donkey turned from the path and three times Balaam beat the animal in anger. Finally, the donkey turned around, and to Balaam’s shock and amazement, began to speak to him, admonishing his master for beating him. Imagine a donkey talking to you! He warned Balaam of the angel of death who was standing in the road with a sword drawn, ready to kill Balaam if he continued.

There are times when pushing harder, trying to manipulate the circumstance, or pressing those around you is not the response to have to the roadblock. God may be trying to have you reconsider your ways. God may be doing one of four things when you are faced with an obstacle: 1) He’s blocking it to protect you. 2) His timing to complete this stage is not the same as yours, and He may need you to go through a process of character refinement. 3) He may want other players to get in place, and the circumstances are not yet ready for them to enter. 4) He may be using the process to develop patience in you. Relying on the Holy Spirit to know which one applies to your situation is the key to moving in God’s timing.

“The greatest among you will be your servant”
(Matt 23:11).

Ken Blanchard, the author of the One Minute Manager, once
shared a story about what can happen when individuals in a company
model servant leadership, no matter where they are on the totem
pole.

A business consultant was training more than 3000 employees of
a mid-western grocery chain to approach their jobs with a goal of
creating a memory for their customers. She stated that “this
is what will distinguish your store from all others.”

Johnny was a 19-year old bag boy that had down-syndrome. His
first response to the consultant’s suggestion was “I’m just a
‘bag boy.’” Nevertheless, he went home and shared what the
consultant said with his mother. They began to ponder the
consultant’s words about how he could create a memory for his
customers. Johnny had a habit of collecting inspirational thoughts
that he would often read. He decided he would begin printing these
sayings and place one in each of the bags of his customers. When
customers came through the line he would place the sayings in
their bag and say, “I’ve included some of my favorite sayings
in your bag in hopes it will encourage you today. Thanks for
shopping with us.”

After just a few weeks, an amazing thing began to happen. One
day the store manager noticed that all the customers were lined up
at only one cashier station when there were other stations open.
He began to panic, thinking the other stations were broken. After
further investigation he found this was not the case. Actually,
customers wanted to come through Johnny’s line in order to get his
saying of the day.

One woman came up to the manager and said, “I used to come
to the store only once a week, but now I come everyday!”
Johnny’s example spread to other departments in the store. The
florist began giving a flower to each florist customer. The meat
department put Snoopy stickers on each meat order with a special
greeting. This one act by a bag boy changed the entire climate of
the store.*

How can you create a memory for someone in your workplace
today? Jesus was all about creating memories.

*Ken Blanchard, presentation made at 2004 His
Presence in the Workplace conference, San Antonio, TX, 2005

One day I was having lunch with a man who had a certain amount of notoriety in his life. After a time of getting to know each other, he said, “How can I help you?” Those words surprised me coming from a man who obviously already had many requirements on his time. My first thought was that I was impressed with the individual. My next thought was to wonder whether it was a genuine offer or just an effort to impress me with his humility and Christian piety. I have since discovered he was sincere.

This encounter reminded me that each of us must be willing to give to others without a motive to get anything in return. It is simply an act of serving others. Jesus said that we must consider others more important than ourselves. When is the last time you did something for another without a motive of getting anything in return?

When King David came to offer a sacrifice and pray for the removal of a plague on Israel, he was given the opportunity to make the sacrifice without the cost of purchasing the sacrificial animals.

But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen and paid fifty shekels of silver for them. David built an altar to the Lord there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then the Lord answered prayer in behalf of the land, and the plague on Israel was stopped (2 Samuel 24:24-25).

David, understanding the principle of giving, said he could not offer anything to God that did not cost him something. Otherwise, it was not a sacrificial gift.

When was the last time you sacrificed for another with no expectation of getting anything in return? We can all give something to others, such as our time, our money, or our expertise. This is real Christianity that models the Spirit of Christ. The next time you meet with someone, why not consider how you might be a blessing to that person. Why not ask, “How can I help you?”