WUIHL,
God refers to us as sheep and that descriptor holds a powerful truth you must unpack to understand our susceptibility in the different planes. I shared a
link to a program I watched over the weekend. I've seen them before. The first is insightful if you've never worked with sheep. Most haven't. They appear in the second video and throughout the series.
When Covid struck I wondered aloud, where is the church? We've never been more connected technologically than we are today. But it was quiet. Eerily so.
Satan is shrewd. If he can't prevent you from coming to faith he'll direct his efforts towards making you ineffective. When I received my calling I spent time studying men who failed. I didn't limit it to the bible. I looked at earlier times and today. I wanted to understand how he exploited weaknesses for his benefit. The results were telling.
It reiterated the necessity of playing offense against your environment and yourself. We minimize harm and maximize proficiency. We're usually wrong on both ends. I don't spend time speculating because the Lord will reveal it if He desires to do so. But there's another principle in all of that. It isn't my assignment.
A soldier doesn't function at will in his service. He's assigned a post and expected to man it and know the position intimately. If I'm darting here and there I can't get my PH.D in the place within the ranks where I'm needed most. I'll fall short because my time was spent elsewhere.
My litmus test is God's directive and gifting. Have You anointed me for the task and did You tell me to do it? Every problem has a holy solution. But I'm not expected to address all of them. Some of that is related to submission and the necessity of yielding and staying put. Service isn't what I think/believe/want to do; it's what He says.
Just because I can do something doesn't mean I should. That's an important lesson in your growth as a believer and servant. Intention became my banner and I gauge activities through those lenses. Even this. I'm always working.
A simple question to consider is how the activity is helping you accomplish your purpose or drawing you nearer to the result the Lord addressed. And what is it feeding in you? That's pivotal. It is increasing your joy or anxiety? Then you apply the word to the result you discerned and you'll know the source.
Yours in His Service,
~Bella