Uncontrolled Directions

While being in ministry, I have decided that each summer I would do something special with my High School and up group. By doing this, it allows me to really hone in on who they are and what’s going on in their lives. This one particular year, we decided to go camping and tubing. We got on the water in our little tubes, and off we went! Here we were, the five of us, moving down this massive river, some of it was leisure, and the others were not.

As the waves became more exciting, I ended up toppling over! I had gone all the way into the water, completely drenched and ended up losing my flip flops. (Well, I guess that's what I get for wearing them into the river.) And just as the tube flips me, I end up knocking my elbow into a rock and it begins to swell. Pain and throbbing began to ensue as the tubing trip went on. Who would have known you could be injured on a tubing expedition?! I began trying to catch up with everyone, but it hurt so bad to try and move the elbow; so I drifted along the river.

The opportunity came during our tubing experience that I got to know a little bit more about the God of Abraham. I managed to get myself hurt while on a leisurely drift down the Nolichucky River, so with an arm out of commission, I managed to find myself with some one-on-one time with God. During this time, He revealed something to me that I never have contemplated. As I had pretty much laid a drift to the will of the river, unable to control my direction and could only flow with the rivers destination; and as much as I would have enjoyed to have caught up with the rest of the crew on the water, I enjoyed not being in control. Granted I did fight the current, trying not to hit the rocks, but the true revelation out of all of this was, I had to give up. There was no way with my elbow throbbing as bad as it was, that I was going to be able to do what I wanted to do.

Often times, this is the reaction we choose to give God, not willing to let go even when we are hurting, even when we obviously have no control of the direction we want to go. But I find hope in what is written in Psalms 37.

^4(H) Delight yourself in the LORD,
and he will^(I) give you the desires of your heart.

^5(J) Commit your way to the LORD;
^(K) trust in him, and he will act.

As hard as it may be to relinquish control over our circumstances, it is the way we are to be. To be a follower of the risen savior, to proclaim that you truly are his servant, you must give up control.

Jesus proclaims this to his disciples in Luke, (Luke 14:33) "In the same way, therefore, every one of you who does not say good-bye to all his possessions cannot be My disciple." In other words, to let go of your life, your control, your everything. We are required to not hold on or feel in control of anything.

Take heed of these words, and live them out, don't feel the need to control every inch of your life, or the direction it is going in. Take whole of what the psalmist said.

-Jacoby

What is the Impact?

I received some news about someone today and it truly broke my heart. I am not a sappy, mushy guy, but when it comes to the kids/children/students I work with, I truly feel for them when things go bad/wrong. After returning home from hearing this news, I sat in the car and I wondered what impact am I having? Am I truly leading those that I work with towards a lasting relationship with the maker of heaven and earth, or am I just speaking to the benefit of me and listening to my voice?

This is not a new thought, but as I sat in the car, I truly began to look back over my course in ministry, and thought of the people that have passed by my eyes. Does the ministry that I have been called into by a supernatural, awe-inspiring, breath-taking creator truly impact lives for the better? Now, I know that there will be times when some will just not respond, but isn't it the one that seems to get away to be the one that I am after? Or should be after? Luke 15:4 says, "What man among you, who has 100 sheep and loses one of them, does not leave the 99 in the open field and go after the lost one until he finds it?

This continually roams my mind to the point of no end. I wonder if I am doing as this scripture is so commanding. As a professor of mine once said, (paraphrasing)"what idiot would leave their 99 sheep in an open field, just to go and pursue one little sheep." You would have to be an idiot, but the point of this scripture is not to illustrate about loosing a sheep, or person, but to illustrate the importance of the one that is not in the group.

I find in this line of work that one's attention is so easily split. It is split between getting forms and paper work done, or trying to find some cool new video, or maybe its looking at new teaching material, or it's having to be at this meeting, or you are speaking and you need to prepare; however it is, the attention is gone from that one and the impact you have on that life is gone. The true nature of my work is the life on these young ewes, not the paper work or the correct committee, but the life and direction I lead them.

King Solomon made this statement in the book of Proverbs, (Proverbs 22:6) "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." So when this wise King made this statement, how well did he think it would play to today? In this work, I need to continually refer to this and remember how precious the time I am given with these young folks are, so that my focus and impact are not cut, so my attention is not taken away from the herd and by the grace of my maker and savior, I do not loose another member of the herd.

For those who are in this field, we have a work to do! We are God's Shepherds and the importance of all this is to not loose count of one, or what impact do we have. I truly apologize that I have lost sight of the one and that you are no longer part of my flock, but may another shepherd find you and truly lead you in the correct direction that our heavenly Father has for us all.

-Jacoby