Hey, Darling Things!
I am about to write one of the fastest posts of my life because it’s almost time for the ministry to close for the day and I don’t like for any of the support staff to feel like they have to stay around and wait for me. My man will also be ready for his wife to come home. I don’t have time to think about how I should say this or to proof it and rehash it for the next two hours. I’m just going to spit it out there because I can’t shake it from my mind and I feel it pressing on me in such a way that I’ve got to release it.
In the wonderful (and I really do mean wonderful) world of blogs and Twitter-follows, a pile-up can happen with the potential to profoundly hinder the Gospel. We can find ourselves suddenly feeling panicked, or confused, or left out, or just plain lame because our follow-ship of Christ doesn’t look like someone else’s that we admire. I know that’s a yawner. I mean, who doesn’t already know that can happen? Talk about an elementary grasp of the obvious. But stay with me here a second and hash this out a bit because this very thing happened to me yesterday. And I feel like if it happened to me – and I’ve been pretty convinced of the direction of my calling for years now – that it could happen to a lot of us. Especially those who haven’t quite gotten their footing yet. See if you relate:
I read a fabulous post by a young woman I greatly respect and I was moved and convicted by it but over the next few hours I fell into the (self-induced!) trap of thinking things like, “I should have taken that same stand. That’s what’s really important. We should have vastly downsized. We should have moved to the inner city. Not out to the country. I need to get rid of more stuff. ” (And I do, for crying out loud.) “And I need to be more active globally.” And on and on and on. Now, listen to me carefully when I tell you that it was not her post. The post was tremendous, filled with the love of Jesus, and such a portrayal of the Gospel. The problem was what my mind then did with it.
I started thinking of all the people who are doing effectual things for the Kingdom, who I admire tremendously and often wish I were more like. For instance, I started thinking of some Bible professors who I follow who spend all of their work lives training up students in the Scriptures then watch them walk out into the world and take their places. Now, that’s huge. And I started thinking of my dear friends who do amazing and courageous work to fight the atrocities of human trafficking and I think, “Now, THAT’S enormous! What a reflection of the heart of God! Freedom!!! Does it get any bigger than that?? THAT’S what God’s prioritizing right now!” They impact and motivate me every day. And then I start thinking of people who’ve adopted numerous orphans and those who put their hearts at risk over and over as fabulous, loving foster parents. I love children! What could be more Christ-like than that??? And I have so many missionary friends who have left every worldly comfort for the Gospel of the living Lord Jesus Christ, sometimes at the daily risk of their lives. That is the Great Commission! The main thing Jesus sent us out to do!
AND, SISTER, IT IS.
But which cause do we take up? Where do we begin? Which one is God’s favorite?? Who’s God’s favorite??? Because I want to be like God’s favorite, don’t you? Yes, yes, Jesus is God’s favorite. And He is the one and only Person we should want to be just like. But, let’s admit it. Sometimes we can get a little confused in this lens we have to the world through one quick gleaming glance at our screen. The works of God taking place out there are astounding! And some of them we now have the privilege to give ear to every single day through Twitter. It’s fabulous. I absolutely love it. But it can also be bewildering as we try to figure out where we fit in all of that. And maybe we can’t see a fit at all.
Here’s what I want to throw at you to consider. This is what I felt God placed upon my heart as I wrestled with this last night.
What do you look like when you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength?
Because THAT person, Girlfriend, is who He’s looking for in you.
When we’re trying to hash out God’s priorities for us, that’s IT in a nutshell. “Teacher, which commandment is the most important of all?”
And that’s what He told them.
So, let me ask you this: when you are teeming with love for the Lord your God, who are you right then? What is your passion? What is it that you are bursting to do? That’s probably the stream of your calling. I’m not asking you who you see in front of you when you feel the most love for Jesus because that could be your pastor or your teacher or your worship leader. I’m asking you who is INSIDE OF YOU when you are flooded with the fiery love of Christ? Right there in that passion you’ll start discovering that purpose.
You following Christ will not always look the same as someone else following Christ. Why on earth would He have bothered to form you in your mother’s womb with your own DNA and life experience ahead just to copy what someone else you’re seeing is doing?
Who are you supposed to look like in your calling here on earth and in the way you follow Christ? You’re supposed to look like the version of you that loves Jesus with everything in you.
That’s the real you.
And that’s the road down which you will find what He put you on the planet to do. You don’t have to figure out what to surrender to. Just surrender your heart to Jesus. Every single ounce of it. Ask Him to give you a love for Him that surpasses anything in your human experience. A supernatural capacity. And ask Him for it every day until He does it and then ask Him to do it some more. If you’re a writer, your exploding love for Him will bring it out. If you’re a liberator, you will not be able to keep yourself from seeing to the oppressed. If you’re a teacher, you won’t be able to quit studying except to share what you learned with somebody. If you love Him with your whole heart and that whole heart bursts to sell everything and move to China, Girl, get your passport!
Who would you be if you loved Jesus with your whole heart, soul, mind and strength?
That’s what you’re meant to look like.
Let THAT person follow Him, and He, Child, will make you a fisher of men.
My fastest post ever. But I feel better.
I love you guys so much.
While doing laundry I was listening to an INCREDIBLE teaching about afflictions by an amazing woman who was talking about how her mind trips her up in all sorts of ways and how that is simply the enemy letting his old red legs run around her mind (my summary, not her words). Wonder who that brilliant woman was????? Hmmmm let me take a guess YOU beautiful Beth! I do love how you can turn around a moment of feeling inferior to a teaching in victory through Christ.
Bless you and the incredible women you work with!
Wow. It would be easier to respond if I weren’t fighting back hysterical tears right now. I have struggled with this ever since we moved to Abu Dhabi and even more so since I left my job nearly a year ago. The whole “I’m wasting my life. What am I doing for God? Yada, yada, yada.” Today in particular, I battled this. The Lord keeps telling me to write this novel, but it seems so crazy (arrogant, maybe, too?)– especially someone who rarely finishes anything. What is another novel in the scheme of things? I look at you, Beth, and think, “Look at how much she has done for God. What have I done lately?” Talk about arrogance (mine, not yours)! We are SO performance-oriented. God is so very, very patient with us.
So, thank you, dear sister, for reminding me today to stop listening to the enemy’s lies. God will fulfill his unique calling on our lives and to stick with this difficult and never-ending project!
Oh how I needed to hear that TODAY! My church Life Group has been reading “Hole in the Gospel.” If that doesn’t convict you, nothing will. At the same time, my husband and I are trying to figure out if we should add a guest room to our home. I also bought myself a few new spring things this week. I feel guilty, ridiculous for thinking of such meaningless things, and wonder if I am missing what God is calling me to do. Am I doing enough? Am I being a good steward of his $? Am I to travel abroad spreading the good news? Continue working with my precious young children who are really “getting it” the past several months? Giving back in my own community? Where is the line between self-service and self-sacrifice? I struggle, but your blog is bringing me comfort. “Do not be anxious about anything…”
Girlfriend, you hit the nail squarely on the head with that one. Just last night I was feeling those very same feelings. Asking those same questions. Why can’t I be like that? why can’t I write like that? Then answering my own questions with such a negative response. Things like, no one reads your blog, you haven’t sold enough of your books for any major publisher to pick you up. Why are you even bothering to write that next book, it cost too much, emotionally and financially. Just who do you think you are? Then I read this post. I know God needs all of us to further His Kingdom, one post, of word, one calling at a time. Thank you Beth, I would never have thought you would feel that way. I needed those words to help me press on!!!
Thanks Beth! Great post. Its hard enough to serve God as it is, but we’re always comparing ourselves to others and craving affection and acceptance. I’m part of an online community and there are always favorites, but where do the rest of us fall in? We’re all in His heart. We are all beautifully made and whatever we do for him I believe He will be pleased. Thank you so much for reminding us to be ourselves and do our thing, regardless of how big or small it is.
Carla, I love your response! So true!
There are seasons…
This is a great encouragement to me today, in this season of my life. There really are NO small jobs. I just have to keep asking Him for that “supernatural capacity” to love Him MOST – and then ask Him some more! Love that advice. Love you, Beth! Love all you LPM’ers. Hope you are all free of any yucky infections for the rest of Easter week!!
Thank you for this post! I cant tell you how it blessed me as this is the area I get tripped up with the most in my head. How freeing this message is to me.
Wow, I really do struggle/wrestle with this sometimes but…I have come to realize that I need to be faithful where He has put me…it’s not always where I want to be but that’s where He has me and I pray to be effective for the Kingdom. Thank you for this post “)
My favorite thing about this post is that you have it in ALL BOLD LETTERS! I could feel the intensity of your writing as I read those big black words! 🙂
I also thought of you this morning during my time in the Word. I was reading Psalm 30 and read, “You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and CLOTHED ME WITH GLADNESS, that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!” (v.11-12) It reminded me of your last SSMT post. I thought, “Oh Lord Jesus, clothe me with GLADNESS today when my heart is so heavy!” I also decided to rewatch your Passion 2013 teaching on The Last Supper today during this Passion Week. I was invigorated again with the knowledge of so many things to be GLAD about!
Praise God that the cross WAS FINALLY ENOUGH!
Thank you!
Happy Resurrection Day!
Dear Courtney
Is this Passion 2013 teaching to which you refer available online. I am really needing to imprint on my heart that the cross was finally enough.
Thanks
Colleen
Hey Miss Colleen!
OH my…her teaching is incredible! I was there live and was able to purchase an “All-access card” which then gives me a copy of all the week’s teachings. But it’s also on youtube.com. If this link doesn’t work, you can search “Beth Moore Passion 2013.” Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5JE–MSC28
Love this post Beth!! Thank you for reassuring me this afternoon. it is hard sometimes not to compare myself w/ other women. God loves me just like i am and I praise Him for that!! love &hugs! have a great week:)
Oh Beth… I think this is probably my favorite post of yours ever! This one is getting printed out so I can reread it again and again!! You cannot possibly know how much God has used you in my life. I am so very thankful that He gave you the gift He did and that you are obedient! You are so very loved!!
Bless you, Beth, for this post. I know this, I needed this. And what a great time to present this truth once again: square in the middle of Holy Week. A good ol’ shot of GRACE! 🙂
Beth, to start off with you feeling down about you, if it wasn’t for you I would still be acting in a life of sin which had been there since I was child. He showed me through your Breaking Free what it was about and how ti quit and I did in 2010. Thank you ever so much.
Then secondly, my love for Him and the need to please Him is so great it takes my breath away. I won’t make a long story of it but know that I am sacrificing things that would make my life easier so that I can keep in step with Him and make sure that I am here to do whatever He calls me to do. My ministry is very small. I type letters, research, dog sit, bird sit, house sit, pray for, cook for, cry with, laugh with but most of all show people who God wants me to be. I love Him so and I love and appreciate all you do to show people what God wants you to be. God bless my sweet siesta.
Hi Lisa, noticed that you done “Breaking Free”. I’m reading and doing the study also now. Praying to break free from some of my mess too! Have a wonderful Easter!!
Thank you for this post! It confirmed my calling and comforted my soul. You have no idea! “What do you look like when you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength? Because THAT person, Girlfriend, is who He is looking for in you.” Those words brought tears and the sweetest comfort to my soul. I am on the right track and am right where I should be – madly, deeply in love with my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Monica
“Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.” I Peter 4:10
Amen!
This is such good advice! Thank you!
I sooooooo needed to hear this. Today. At the precise moment when I had a minute to clear my inbox. Wow. I’m doing all I know I’m called to do but there’s so much more to be done. Thank you for being that person I admire who freed me to refocus on MY calling from my God and reminding me that Jesus loves the me He made just as much as _______(that person I need to praise God for without trying to be)! Praise God for _____ and for you!!
This was so inspiring and So needed today, thank you Beth. Please if you have time check out my blog on website above. I have a heart to minister to those struggling with eating disorders and food addictions because I lived in that darkness for fifteen years. I want to start a video diary to make it more personal and transparent and need wisdom and guidance. Thank you for your prayers and your beauty inside and out and your faithfulness in your ministry to God
That was one of the most beautifully liberating t hings I’ve ever read in my life!!!!! It’s so nice to see that you and I were both struggling with or calling yesterday. It makes me feel so much better to know that even someone whose been living their calling for so long can struggle with doubt too. I love that the picture of me loving God is who He wants me to be. I’m that teacher that just loves to study, and i’m that writer that loves to write about what I’ve been studying about.
Just today I was looking at my blog stats and thinking about who those numbers represent. Each one of them is a person a real live person. And while my numbers may not be as high as some other bloggers numbers, are my people any less important than theirs? No way!!! And it’s because i’m being the best me I can be that those people are being fed the word of God every day!
Thank you for getting this post of you’re chest before you left, I needed it!
this wasn’t just for ladies.
it’s what i needed to receive today.
thank you.
scott
Beautifully written and so very insightful!!
Thank you SOOO much for writing this post. Just……..thank you. I heart you.
Just testing my picture; it seems to have disappeared. I’m sad because I can’t find the instructions to put it back on.
Oooops I may have figured it out. I’ve used a different e-mail than normal, so we will see if this brings it back. I hope.
a pastor at a church i vistited this past sunday said, “most christians like Jesus. we love all he stands for and love all that he did, but very few of us want to be like Jesus because to abide in him means we must partake of his cup and that cup includes suffering and sacrfice.” i couldn’t agree with him more. in fact i may suffer from like christ more than wanting to BE like him at times. but when i am invested in him wholly, following in his footsteps, i realize that the only thing that can keep me on track is to find my center. aside from Jesus as the obvious core, i believe my center is what drives me, it’s my passion, it defines my existence. as you said, all of us have different paths, different passions. we can’t be looking side to side. we have to figure out our own path and then run hard. i feel being a wife and mother of small children, i’ve lost my center. i’m in the process of figuring that out now. thank you for your encouraging words beth.
Beth! God is amazing! This very thing has been heavy on my heart this past week only I couldn’t have put it into words as eloquently. Our ability to be aware of and active in so many good things has made many of us (me!) feel sub-par if we do not have a foot in each of 50 camps! These things are great things but I keep coming back to what you said about what it looks like for each individual one of us to love God with heart, mind and strength. I see this in Romans 12:6-8 and 1 Cor 12:14 and on-we each have a calling and none is holier or better than the next, rather they all compliment eachother and (gasp!) give us freedom in loving God in our specific capacity and gifting rather than more guilt. As Galadrielle said to Frodo in The Lord of the Rings, “this task was appointed to you, and if you do not find a way, no one will.” (I couldn’t resist). How much more beauitful, how much more a reflection of the diversity and creativity of God the body of Christ would be if we could all do this! Thank you for this post- it was of course perfectly timed (and the first
I’ve ever read though I’ve meant to many times!).
I was starting to covet the ministries of some of my friends,a short while back, thinking oh I want to do that
or this or what so and so is doing. I was doing my
James study, when I felt the Lord putting, on my heart,
after reading on p.111:
“One of the signs of a teaching gift is an unexplainable thirst to study followed by the difficultly of keeping to yourself what you learned.”
I believe God has me right where He wants me.
Another question, on p.131, read:
“Has anything good or beneficial come to you or others as a result of your lack? If so, list every bit of fruit you can identify or even remotely discern.”
I am blessed because of my lack because it has allowed me to draw closer to God, do more Bible study, pray more, and I’m more available to my family and others. I praise
God for His plan, not mine!
I love this…so been on my heart too! Thank you for taking the time to post this:)
Thanks Beth, I needed this reminder. I’m so glad you went with your God designed direction, those of us blessed by your ministry would have missed a powerful support for our lives. Lots of love and blessings dear Sister in Christ
What do you look like when you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength?
Because THAT person, Girlfriend, is who He’s looking for in you.
Oops…didn’t finish before hitting the return key. 🙂
I think I know my calling, but I’m struggling with obedience. You spoke to me right there, ’cause I want to be that girl that loves the Lord with all her heart, soul, mind & strength. I have a feeling I know what it will look like (at least a little-bit), but in some ways that’s what’s holding me back. But…I so want to love God fully, I don’t want to be afraid of it!
Such a word for me today! Thanks!
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you, Beth! This is a message I need to be reminded of often. (As evidenced by reading it here today and a similar message in a devotion I read last week.) I am a pleaser and am so often tempted to squeeze myself into someone else’s mold or feel guilty for not being who they are. Thank you for the reminder that God made each of us unique and wants each of us to be who HE made us to be!
Beth,
Thank you. Lots of things are running through my mind but mostly, thank you.
Mrs. Beth, thank you, thank you, thank you for your faithfulness in sharing this. It speaks right to my heart in this season of my life. I went straight from a smallish Christian college to a big university for graduate school where I am struggling to find my place in the Kingdom and learn who He made me to be. It’s hard not to compare myself to my friends as they take on ministry positions, move overseas for missions, get married, and do all these amazing things for the Kingdom, while I feel like I am really struggling to find where I fit. So thank you for speaking this truth over us and reminding me that my journey with Christ is unique and that becoming a person who loves Him with all of me is His plan for my life.
Thank You, Jesus! You spoke thru Beth again. I have had this on my heart all week. Not only for myself but for my 3 butterflies (daughters). I have a 20 yr old that is in the middle of her college years and seems to just be floating. I know she has a desire for something but unfortunately she has not been able to focus in on it. The 2 younger girls are 12 and 10 and I feel it is important to let them know as well that they need to look at what God has created them for and how uniquely they fit in his plans. Thank you for this post I am sharing it with my butterflies.
Thank you Beth! It helps to know that the people you look up to, deal with the same misgivings. As a pastors wife in a low income area in the middle of no where, you can begin to compare yourself to all the “big” ministries. Thinking what difference am I making! Then God reminds you in the simple ways ” Dawn you are where I placed you! You are very important part of my plan! A different part of the body! But a very needed part of the body!” thank you Beth for listening to the Spirit, and blessing us with HIS Truth!
Dear Beth,
THANK YOU for that, from the bottom of my heart. It is the answer I’ve been wanting and searching for, for about a year now. I feel like God just spoke right through you to me!
Thank you!
Jen
Thank ou Beth for the reminder to be who He created and to STOP COMPARING for crying out loud. to everything there is a season “and a moderation”. I try to stop and ask myself before hopping on Facebook or someone’s blog, will this bless me or someone else? If the answer is no, I try to take all thoughts captive and actions obedient to Christ! I used to think parenting was the. Most competitive thing we put ourselves through . . . Now I wonder if it is our Christian walk? Please God, let us run far away from doing that to one another! Amen~
Dearest Beth, I find myself in that frame of mind sometimes too. Especially since I teach in public school and even mentioning Jesus is a problem. But, it has been you who has reminded me that Jesus put me in this exact place and time for a specific reason. One of the many reasons I love you. We all are unique! Praise the Lord! I love how God is never boring.
Thank you Beth. This was for me.
Thank you so much for this post. It means so much to me today. Thank you for your ministry to me over the years. God has used you to change lives you will never know about until we all meet in Heaven.
Sometimes you have to sit quietly and listen to know where God wants you to go. I am working on it. Often if I ignore what God is putting on my heart, the feeling gets stronger until I can’t ignore it. I read once to find something that even when it exhausts you, you can hardly wait to do it again. For me, that is providing food for those who are struggling in our community. I help run a food pantry at our church and coordinate mobile food giveaways on a monthly basis in different locations throughout the county. It was a big step out of my comfort zone, but I had a peace about those decisions which helped me know that it was where God wanted me to be.
I SO needed to hear that Beth! Thank you 🙂
You should read this blog my friend wrote while on the World Race.
http://brittanycantrell.theworldrace.org/?filename=struggling-raw-and-honest
It is about comparison and realizing who you are in Christ’s eyes.
Susan, Jonesboro, AR
I’m an empty-nester and I’m in a situation where as my husband’s work has progressed there’s more staff and less of my active partnership with him.
Sooooo for quite a while I have felt benched. I wasn’t really but that’s how I felt. And the comparison thing just added insult to injury and evil just had a blast.
I deeply appreciate the post. Evil is losing it’s ground with me. Evil is such a loser. And enjoying Micah 6:8 walking humbly with Him is gaining ground. Thank You God.
Much needed, and profound. As one constantly trying to figure out what in the world God wants me to do, this makes it so plain and simple.
Because my heart is bursting with a love for Poland and the Polish people, being able to go over there and build relationships with the young people really “floats my boat!” God led me to the sport of volleyball years ago and because I am presently a volleyball coach, I am able to take my passion for Christ and my passion for volleyball to then combine the two as my method in loving them and sharing Christ with them. It isn’t necessarily the “normal” method of ministry but I know without a shadow of a doubt that it is the way He has chosen for me to serve Him globally.
Ginger
Wetumpka, AL
Hi Beth, thank you so much for your fastest post ever! Ha! I really needed to hear your words and set me straight as I just encounter these feelings last night! You are a blessing and gift from the Lord as He refreshes my spirit each time I hear you teach on His Word!
Thank you for such an encouraging post. I really needed to read that today.
Dear Beth ~ It may be one of your “fastest” posts, but, it is an excellent one, indeed. I cried as I read it, because, I look at you, and think of how “at peace” you must be with the way your life has gone, in your pursuit of HIM, and His will for you. You know, girl, and we all know, too, that you simply could not have lived any other life then the one you have lived … entirely for HIM.
But, Beth, that’s my point, too. I was living that life, too. I was in “hot” pursuit of HIM, and His will for my life, and I believed with all my heart, I was THERE!!!
But, guess what happened to me along the way?
There were busy bodies who found this problem with me, and then that problem with me, and before I knew it, I was being called into a meeting (just two men) and the entire future of my service for the Lord (in this particular church) was about to be determined. Not by God, but by man!
At the end of this very short and to the point meeting, I was in tears, and they were abrupt in their telling me to leave the ministry (guidance counselor) I was in, and not to come back unless they call me to. It’s been three years, almost to the day, and I am glad I did not hold my breath waiting for their call, cause there hasn’t been one.
Also, after serving the Lord with everything that was in me, and other folks knew it, not one single person in that church called me to ask where I was, what’s going on, how are you, we miss you, can we help, kiss my foot, whatever!!!! NOT ONE.
So, what do you do, Beth, when you love the Lord with ALL you heart, soul, mind, spirit, and body, and you are serving Him as He has called you to, and the rug gets pulled out from under you by man? What do you do to mend your heart, and move on?
More than likely, you will never see this. It’s way too long, and you do not have the time to check all of your replies and comments. And, others won’t care to do so, either, cause it just too long. But, it is my heart overflowing with the grief it has contained for a long, long time now. And, it could use a hug. 🙂
God bless you and anyone else reading this.
jd<
Yesterday someone online posted one of your videos. The video about how God told you to brush that wheelchair bound mans hair. Yes, of course you know the one I’m talking about. It hit me so hard, I had to find another way to hear God’s word from you. He spoke to me so loudly through you, and I had to hear more. Because of that video, I found this blog. This blog post. Screaming the answer at me to a question I had been wrestling with for weeks. I write a small humble regular ‘mommy blog’ about farm, and family. A blog that had recently become just another ‘mommy blog’. I felt a need to do more than say I was/am a Christian. I felt a need to prove it, but I wasn’t sure how. And then, here you were. I am subscribing to your blog. I’m certain I can learn so much more. I am sure I can give so much more. Thank you.