I've reached a point in my life where I'm actually looking for ways to step out in faith in areas where, in the past, I felt uncomfortable entering. I don't know if it's age or the stretching of my faith, but I'm more willing to step out in faith in areas in which I have no knowledge or experience.
My daughter knows me. If it's a challenge, I'm more apt to take it, just to see where it leads me, even if I don't have any experience in dealing with that particular situation. It oftentimes frustrates my daughter, because I'll sometimes walk into a situation in blissful ignorance, having no idea what I'm getting into or what the end results will be...lol. It's my deep belief that there's so much growth to be had in our relationship with God when we take steps or leaps of faith, trusting that God has already prepared the blessings and provisions for us when we get to where He wants us to go.
Yes, there are times where failure is at the finish line, and those are the times when I learn much. On the other hand, there are times where I succeed, and the blessings are unexpected and transform my relationship with the Lord. Every challenge is an opportunity to advance my relationship with the Lord, win or lose, since even the losses can be placed in the "win" category, because everything brings glory to God and strengthens that relationship between me and Him. The way I look at it, I may have lost, but the Lord was with me the whole time and He held me in His hand the entire way.
I'm what you would could call a "fill in the gap" type of born again believer. I don't hold to one ministry or another, so I'm not tied down to a particular ministry in the church. I fill in where the Lord needs me, so I'm a more flexible and available servant of the Lord. He leads me and plunks me down where He needs someone to fill in the gap. I'm one of the "Here I am, Lord, send me" crowd. That's one of the reasons why I don't think I'd ever be an effective ministry leader in my local church. That's not who God made me to be. I'm not knocking anyone who is called to serve in a particular ministry in the church, I'm just saying that God created me to serve Him in a particular way, and, to me, it doesn't quite fit in with the normal way the church operates, but that's okay, because God made me and others with a unique purpose, and that's to serve Him in any way and at any time He wants me to.
I have my own personal ministry that I take care of (Tribulation Harvest), and that's more of an extra-church type of ministry, a ministry that operates outside the normal church structure, so that's the ministry on which I focus. It's an outreach ministry not only to evangelize here and now, but to evangelize even after I've been taken from this earth in the Rapture. THAT's my main focus, and with that being a ministry outside the church, I'm able to be used in other ways within the church body by God.
I encourage everyone to take stock of how active you are in your local church and in the community. If you've had trepidations about stepping out in faith to volunteer in a ministry in the church, I say take that step of faith (for some it's a leap, and I completely understand) and see where it leads you. Through volunteering, your fellowship will grow and I promise that your relationship with the Lord will grow as you give of yourself to serve Him through serving others. Months after making that decision, you'll be able to look back and see how much you've grown, which may encourage you to take more steps, or even a huge leap, in faith as you work to advance the kingdom of God, both in your community and around the world. Whatever you do, remember that it's all for Him. We're called to serve Jesus and use whatever gifts He's given us to bless others in His name. To Jesus be the glory and honor forever and ever! Amen!!!
REPENT, AND BE FORGIVEN!
BELIEVE, AND BE SAVED!
TRIBULATIONHARVEST.NET
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