Several years ago, my friends Harry and Belinda sold their house in an upscale East Brainerd neighborhood and purchased a farm across the mountain. Harry had grown up on a farm in Middle Tennessee, so this move was a return to a familiar life and a closeness to the land. He now has “100 head of cattle.”
Harry told me one time, “It doesn’t work for me to drive these cattle into a pasture. If I am behind them trying to force them in a certain direction, they go every which way. But if I get out in front, they will all follow me around anywhere.” The same could be said about flocks of sheep, which are depicted in artwork as following a shepherd toward a new pasture. And this is how the life of faith works … following.
As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him. (Matthew 9:9 NRSV)
There is an excellent group study by Henry Blackaby called Experiencing God, which you should definitely experience. One of the principles he teaches is to watch what God is doing and then participate. Too often we get involved in what may be good things, and then ask God to help us. But the life of discipleship should have a different approach. Instead of asking God to “bless what we are doing,” it is more in line with the teachings of Jesus to “do what God is blessing.”
For instance, suppose you want to start a prison ministry, but find it hard to get organized and recruit volunteers. This goes on for a while with minimal progress, and you are constantly praying to God for help and direction to make this work. Meanwhile, there are teenagers at church or among your friendship connections that seem to have an affinity toward you. They ask you questions and seem to trust you. Maybe God is trying to tell you something. If you are paying attention, you would see that God is working on teenagers in your presence, while you are spending your time trying to start a prison ministry. It would appear that God wants you to mentor teenagers, not prisoners.
Pay attention to what God is doing, and then follow. Let him lead you. You and I are the sheep. We don’t need to be out front, leaving the shepherd behind. The notion of “I did it my way” that is glamorized in a popular song sounds alluring, but it is self-centered. My version of that song would go more like, “I did it my way, and messed things up!” I would rather sing it like this, “I did it God’s way, and amazingly it was much better.” That ought to be obvious, or as Homer Simpson would say, “Well, Duh!”
It is not really our job to figure out what to do, or even to figure God out. It is our job to follow him and to watch what he is doing and do that! … Follow … Watch … Join.
Blessings,
Chaplain Mark