I’ve been feeling a little discouraged lately… it’s kind of hard to explain it, but I guess I am still adjusting to my life away from college. For four and a half years my life was filled with almost constant activity with school and Intervarsity. Especially with IV, we often saw the very tangible results of our efforts to make a difference.
Now everything is different. Being at home most of the day, I have frankly been discouraged because I felt like what I’m doing doesn’t really make a difference. At college I heard so much about how we can make a difference with the people around us– people in our classes, roommates, on campus, co-workers, etc. But what about when you don’t really interact with people very often? When your days are filled with housework, cleaning, and cooking, sometimes it feels like it really doesn’t matter.
But God has been showing me that it does matter, as long as I am faithful to the work He has called me to do– that is the most important thing. Even if I never see the difference, the important thing is being faithful– then I will leave life with no regrets. He showed me, if I feel I am not making a difference, it is not because I don’t have any opportunities. One of those ways is by writing. Even if I don’t see people a lot these days, I still have an opportunity to reach out, encourage people via the internet. That’s pretty cool.
Also prayer. This morning I read the October 17 devotional in My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers: ”Prayer does not equip us for greater works— prayer is the greater work. Yet we think of prayer as some commonsense exercise of our higher powers that simply prepares us for God’s work. In the teachings of Jesus Christ, prayer is the working of the miracle of redemption in me, which produces the miracle of redemption in others, through the power of God…
… it makes no difference where you are. However God may engineer your circumstances, your duty is to pray. Never allow yourself this thought, “I am of no use where I am,” because you certainly cannot be used where you have not yet been placed. Wherever God has placed you and whatever your circumstances, you should pray, continually offering up prayers to Him….
…There is nothing thrilling about a laboring person’s work…When you labor at prayer, from God’s perspective there are always results. What an astonishment it will be to see, once the veil is finally lifted, all the souls that have been reaped by you, simply because you have been in the habit of taking your orders from Jesus Christ.” (Emphasis mine.)
Wow, what an encouragement! God’s timing, as always, is impeccable.
