Faithful

“Knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of God has been granted to you; but to the rest, they are made known through parables so that they may look but not see, and hear but not understand.” Luke 8:9-10

Who do we prefer to be? Someone who knows God’s secrets, or someone ‘though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand’ (Isaiah 6:9) Frederick Buechner said, “We learn to praise God, not by paying compliments, but by paying attention.” The parable of the sower in the 8th chapter of Luke shows us how important it is for us to listen, listen, listen to God, and obey. “But as for the seed that fell on rich soil, they are the ones who, when they have heard the word, embrace it with a generous and good heart, and bear fruit through perseverance” (v. 15). 

There are so many stories in the Bible about how God blessed those who were obedient, who simply remained faithful in spite of their limitations. There’s Moses who was insecure about his stuttering, Abraham, Joseph, Joshua, and even towering St. Paul who started out as an enemy of God’s favored people. In every story, their success did not depend on them but on God.

God called Rich Stearns to be President of World Vision United States back in 1998. But previous to his heading the humanitarian work of that organization, he was President and CEO of Lennox Collections, a luxury goods company with over $500 million in sales annually. He argued with God a lot because he had never been to Africa, he didn’t know squat about global poverty, and he had no theological training. Like Moses, he didn’t want to speak publicly, and like Moses, he thought he was the wrong person for the job. 

Rich Stearns wrote: “For me, the key moment in Moses’ story comes in Exodus 4, when God asks Moses, “What is that in your hand?” Moses had his wooden shepherd’s staff in his hand. God told him to throw it down, and as we know, God then performed a miracle by turning the staff into a serpent. Essentially God was saying, ‘Moses, I’ve got this. I am the God of miracles. You don’t need to worry about how this will turn out. I can use even a lifeless stick of wood to accomplish my will. I’m only asking for your obedience.’ God was saying the same thing to me in 1998. ‘Look, Rich, I’ve got this. I know what’s on your résumé. I am well aware of your shortcomings. I need your obedience.’”

Perhaps you are feeling insecure right now, shaky and not at all confident, like I am. My family has been in business for over 50 years now and we have never encountered conditions like what we are in right now. It’s mind boggling. So many challenges. But I hold on to God tightly, knowing He is in control. As Mother Teresa said, “God has not called me to be successful. He called me to be faithful.”