About a month ago, I was driving home from our Wednesday night service. As I drove, I had a conversation with a student who I was giving a ride home to turned to how the night had gone. Typically, I talk in terms of whether the students were attentive, how certain aspects of the message or lesson went (or didn’t go), if there was any serious conversation had and the overall feeling. Tonight, though, “I don’t think they got it, came out of my mouth” The message was on Containing Complaining, which is definitely NOT a big issue with students. “Why don’t you think it went well?” She asked me. … "I just don’t think they got it… They didn’t seem to be listening… They didn’t seem interested… they mentioned that they were coming for reasons other than the message. I wish my students would feel the same way about this message as I did. There is just too much complainig these days. No one seems to be happy with anything anymore. It could have been some life-changing stuff in the s message and I’m not sure they feel that way about this stuff.”
That short conversation has lasted with me for a few weeks now. Then I thought, we don’t often share the life-changing impact with those who bring it about… a teacher… the minister at church… a friend at small group… or even someone closer… a family member… or even our boy/girl friend. But maybe, just maybe the impact is nonetheless real. As someone who speaks regularly in our student ministry’s services, at local school groups,at our local College BCM , and occasionally elsewhere, I know that there are times when I feel like I totally bombed and messed up a great message that really needed to be heard. In some of those times, God puts just the right person in my path to remind me of the impact that I had gave out but didn’t realize. They often do it by complimenting the message or remarking that it was “just what they needed to hear.”. So… what’s my point?
About a week ago, I received an amazing message over facebook. It was from a student who was kinda confessing to me that she knew she had been a negative person at times and sometimes just complained. That she had realized that and wants to change that. She felt convicted after having a "quiet time" and the thought struck her. Maybe it was the message that I had deliverd a few Wednesdays ago. Maybe a word or two sunk in. Maybe the message God gave me was the right message for one special person, who by the prompting of the Holy Spirit was waking up & be a more POSITIVE Disciple for Christ. WOW. The message she sent is still with me, encouraging me and giving me hope. Ya' See, being in the ministry has it's drawbacks. There are times when I feel ineffective, so useless. Like I am just going through the motions and spending hours and hours a week and never seeing anything good happen. BUT, Just when I least expect it, a message appears and completely changes my thinking. So, here's my current thinking that I knew all along that I seem to have had a short term memory lose about it .
Simply put: Never discredit any Godly effort. You never know who is listening, taking mental notes and then applying what they heard and learned even if they don’t act like it in the moment. God’s Spirit can do some incredible things with our efforts if we will just trust him. Even Jesus had to remind his followers that it’s not about our efforts, but more about God’s, “Jesus looked at them (the disciples) and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’” (Matthew 19:26).
Keep that in mind the next time you feel like a failure....Students, what you say DOES make a difference to your friends. Never Never Never give up just being a Godly friend.
God can and will use what you do to bring GLORY to HIM.
till next time,
tc.
Romans 5:1
