So I took a long hiatus from blogging because it's becoming a drudgery and I'm having a hard time finding joy in the work God has placed before me. In Exodus 18, Moses meets up with Jethro, his father-in-law. Here we see three things about counsel and the intentions with which we must pursue or give them with.
1. In counseling others, we must be open with each other with the intent of glorifying God in truth, not in deceit . In this passage, Moses' recounts God's provision during the Israelite's escape from Egypt. Usually however, when we tell someone about how God is working in us we leave out the small dark times we go through, or the complacent times we experienced. Even in our testimonies we use the more glorified version of the events of our lives to make it a more astounding. In this recounting, I believe Moses held nothing back from Jethro, and it's a reminder that the joy from pronouncing God's goodness comes not from our interpretation of God's sovereignty over the events of our lives but comes from God Himself, allowing us to enjoy in His work through another person.
2. Always have a God-centered approach to providing advice. Notice in verse 17-23, Jethro counsels Moses about how he is spending his time. The biblical idea behind this is that duty before God that precedes relationship with God is detrimental to the overall growth of a Christian. Now Jethro didn't give this advice because he felt Moses was doing a poor job at it. He gave this advice so that the Word of God will also be with the people and Moses can have more time to devote to God. And it's also important to discern between godly advice and worldly advice. Note that Moses distinguished between advice Israelite and the elders demanded of him, and the advice that Jethro gives to him. The difference in my opinion, is the center or intent behind the advice. Providing food, nourishment, and basic needs for a large group of people isn't bad advice, but the heart is one that distrusts where God has placed the Israelites in that moment in time. At the same time, doing less ministry work is not necessarily a bad thing, if the intent of doing so is to focus more on God. So the issue here is not the advice given, but the heart of the one giving the advice.
3. Heed godly counsel with reverence and obedience, with a promise of God's provision at the end. Jethro leaves with a note in verse 23. He promises that through his advice, God will 1. Direct Moses, 2. Moses will endure and 3. The people will go home satisfied/in peace. All three of these things are good promises, but the 1st one is what serves as an indicator of Jethro's advice being a godly one. Jethro gave advice, leaving it up to God both how Moses will handle it, how it will be received, and whether it will work or not. And the rest of the promises (two and three) is an assurance of the gifts of the spirit (can also be a reference of Romans 5:3-5). Often when we give advice or counsel we don't become involved in the process as well. Our role is constant prayer over that situation and for wisdom/discernment in future situations where we might be counseling to others as well.
Showing posts with label romans. Show all posts
Showing posts with label romans. Show all posts
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Friday, February 3, 2012
Bible and Jobs
So I've taken a long time off from Bible study because of both my lack of desire to really just read God's Word and my preoccupations with finding a job/internship. I just wanted to thank you all for your prayers as I would like to share with all of you who've prayed for me/supported me in this time what God has revealed to me this past few months.
Just recently, I received an internship offer (one I didn't prepare for), while I got rejected from another (one I prepared so much for, even sending customized thank you letters to each interviewer based on their background and the conversation we had). The latter internship was paid and was in a nice building near the aquarium. The internship that I was offered was unpaid, working with just one other person, and was in downtown Boston in a one room office in the 3rd floor of a building you could easily miss. Through this experience, God really revealed the pursuit of my heart which was the glamour of business and all that it entails.
I learned so much about God's provision, that ultimately our preparation does not add to the glory He gets, yet we still prepare because it is a responsibility that has been instilled in us from the moment we were born. The problem with preparedness is that it creates in us a sense of entitlement. We make hard work = payoff a divine law (often citing Proverbs), only to realize that EVERYTHING we ever receive or get was ultimately through God's provision. This revelation comes when we finally lose everything, as Job did in Job1:21. The implications of this is that God's provision, NOT ours, is what's sustaining us. It means that we work not to provide for ourselves (because there are millions of people around the world who could barely sustain themselves from the same work we're doing) but to honor God's command for creation. Work also glorifies God in that work serves to magnify grace, in that the latter produces fruit while the former displays how much more important the latter is because it doesn't.
And I feel that whenever I prepare for an interview or whenever I prepare for an exam God reminds me this lesson because I worked hard for my grades yet I just can't get those As. As someone told me, God made people who are going to be B students. I prepared so much for my interviews, did research on how to do it right, and even sent in nice thank you letters, but I didn't get the internship. God has a specific calling for each of us, especially in terms of a career. Why burden ourselves with the feeling that we're inadequate because we didn't get a job or a certain grade if 1. Our worth is in Jesus, not our success and 2. It was never our provision and preparedness that gets us to where we're supposed to be.
So why prepare? Proverbs 21:31 tells us that the victory is God's, not ours. I sincerely believe that we prepare because it is Biblical. Jesus' parables hint at the preparation for the coming of the Kingdom. We prepare not because it increases our chances to get the interview, the upcoming job, the better grade, or anything that is better in this life. We prepare because in our obedience, we honor God's calling for us to work. The difference between this mindset and what I was talking about before is that internships, jobs, etc... have God at the end, not money, position, career, and family at the end of it. That even if we work hard and never get that internship, work hard and never get those As, work hard and never make a decent living in this life, God's glory was still magnified to be a goal worth more achieving than family, friends, money, provision, power, and anything worldly. In this we rejoice and boast (Romans 5:2) that our hope is in God's glory, not in ours.
Again, I just want to thank you all for your prayers. Lord-willing I will start writing more about my thoughts on scripture on a more regular basis.
Just recently, I received an internship offer (one I didn't prepare for), while I got rejected from another (one I prepared so much for, even sending customized thank you letters to each interviewer based on their background and the conversation we had). The latter internship was paid and was in a nice building near the aquarium. The internship that I was offered was unpaid, working with just one other person, and was in downtown Boston in a one room office in the 3rd floor of a building you could easily miss. Through this experience, God really revealed the pursuit of my heart which was the glamour of business and all that it entails.
I learned so much about God's provision, that ultimately our preparation does not add to the glory He gets, yet we still prepare because it is a responsibility that has been instilled in us from the moment we were born. The problem with preparedness is that it creates in us a sense of entitlement. We make hard work = payoff a divine law (often citing Proverbs), only to realize that EVERYTHING we ever receive or get was ultimately through God's provision. This revelation comes when we finally lose everything, as Job did in Job1:21. The implications of this is that God's provision, NOT ours, is what's sustaining us. It means that we work not to provide for ourselves (because there are millions of people around the world who could barely sustain themselves from the same work we're doing) but to honor God's command for creation. Work also glorifies God in that work serves to magnify grace, in that the latter produces fruit while the former displays how much more important the latter is because it doesn't.
And I feel that whenever I prepare for an interview or whenever I prepare for an exam God reminds me this lesson because I worked hard for my grades yet I just can't get those As. As someone told me, God made people who are going to be B students. I prepared so much for my interviews, did research on how to do it right, and even sent in nice thank you letters, but I didn't get the internship. God has a specific calling for each of us, especially in terms of a career. Why burden ourselves with the feeling that we're inadequate because we didn't get a job or a certain grade if 1. Our worth is in Jesus, not our success and 2. It was never our provision and preparedness that gets us to where we're supposed to be.
So why prepare? Proverbs 21:31 tells us that the victory is God's, not ours. I sincerely believe that we prepare because it is Biblical. Jesus' parables hint at the preparation for the coming of the Kingdom. We prepare not because it increases our chances to get the interview, the upcoming job, the better grade, or anything that is better in this life. We prepare because in our obedience, we honor God's calling for us to work. The difference between this mindset and what I was talking about before is that internships, jobs, etc... have God at the end, not money, position, career, and family at the end of it. That even if we work hard and never get that internship, work hard and never get those As, work hard and never make a decent living in this life, God's glory was still magnified to be a goal worth more achieving than family, friends, money, provision, power, and anything worldly. In this we rejoice and boast (Romans 5:2) that our hope is in God's glory, not in ours.
Again, I just want to thank you all for your prayers. Lord-willing I will start writing more about my thoughts on scripture on a more regular basis.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)