“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit- fruit that will last.” -John 15: 6
In Chapter 2 (“Down, Down, Down to Egypt”) of You’ll Get Through This, author Max Lucado notes that Joseph survived his first years in Egypt because he believed that God had a destiny for him. Joseph knew God had called him to more than what the slave owners had planned for him, that his life would not end that way.
As Max enters his fourth decade of being a pastor, he states that he’s heard many Joseph stories and met many Egypt-bound people. At the appropriate opportunity, Max always asks this question: “What do you still have that you cannot lose?” Our ministry downsizing or vocation loss may have taken much away, but our troubles cannot take away the truth that we are God’s child- forever!
Pastor Lucado cautions against being sucked into short-term thinking. Our struggles won’t last forever, but we will. Max adds that we forget this on the road to Egypt:
“Forgotten destinies litter the landscape like carcasses. We redefine ourselves according to our catastrophes (emphasis mine) . . . We settle for a small destiny.”
St. Paul reminds us: “God’s gifts and God’s call are under full warranty- never canceled, never rescinded.” -Romans 11:29 (The Message)
Today’s question: Have you redefined yourself positively or negatively following your ministry downsizing or vocation loss? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “More sponge, less rock”
Special note: coming Monday- the annotation for The Prodigal God by Timothy Keller
