Using God's word for His glory
For we are not peddlers of God’s word like so many; but in Christ we speak as persons of sincerity, as persons sent from God and standing in his presence.
- 2 Corinthians 2:17
This scriptural quote appeared this morning in my verse of the day email that I receive from Sojourners. As I was reflecting on it, I realized in this day it is an extremely important verse to remember. How often do we see people seeking to profit from the Bible, or seeking personal/political agendas and manipulating the Bible to their benefit?
Since I am in a season of support raising, it also reminded me to be honest when sharing with people, something I know is important and not be tempted to manipulate things. I can already see that this is going to be a difficult time of support raising for me, I am struggling to find people to meet with and the job market is still very tight. This may be my toughest trial yet, though I’ve endured things which may seem harder – political turmoil, natural disasters and the discomfort of the mission field. Somehow though, I find anxiety my biggest enemy.
Then, this morning during my devotional as I was reading through Proverbs, I came across this verse:
It is God’s privilege to conceal things and the king’s privilege to discover them.
-Proverbs 25:2 (NLT)
This reminded me that it is important to remember that God’s perspective is so much bigger than ours and though I still don’t know how things will turn out, that whatever happens is for God’s glory. Interestingly, I am currently reading through CS Lewis’ book The Problem of Pain as part of a Bible study and last night I met with a group of guys and we discussed the second chapter talking about omnipotence and how this relates to pain – the fact that God knows we are going through pain and suffering yet in many circumstances does not intervene.
However, I am reminded of when Gideon tried to attack the Midianites with too many men and God told him to send people home because He would not receive glory. Maybe there is just too much time right now for God’s glory to shine through this effort. Whatever happens, I know His timing is perfect.
