SEPTEMBER 14

Overwhelmed by Mercy

1 Timothy 1:12-14, 17

LEADING CAN BE AWFULLY LONELY and terribly frustrating.

It helps me to return to my “call.” Thousands of miles away from home, riveted on a tiny island in the South Pacific for well over a year, I distinctly remember this inner surge of assurance that I would be neither fulfilled nor happy doing anything other than ministry. It meant ignoring a good job awaiting my return, changing careers, and attending graduate school. No matter. It meant retooling my mental machinery for a lifetime of study . . . none of that mattered. It meant living my life under the always curious and sometimes demanding scrutiny of the public eye, and if necessary, being willing to go to the wall for the sake of the gospel. Again . . . didn’t matter. God had spoken to me deep down in my heart and there was no turning back.

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength to do his work. He considered me trustworthy and appointed me to serve him. . . . God had mercy on me because I did it in ignorance and unbelief. Oh, how generous and gracious our Lord was! He filled me with the faith and love that come from Christ Jesus. . . . All honor and glory to God forever and ever! He is the eternal King, the unseen one who never dies; he alone is God. Amen.

1 TIMOTHY 1:12-14, 17

I will spend the rest of my years grateful for and overwhelmed by His grace in calling me —me, of all unlikely people —to work in His vineyard. The loneliness and the frustrations notwithstanding, I absolutely love it. Like the apostle Paul, I never want to get over it. And, honestly, there are times I still find it hard to believe. Ever been there? Better question: Willing to go there?