I Quit

“Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart.” 2 Corinthians 4:1 (ESV)

God gave the Apostle Paul an amazing ministry! It was a special specific calling that literally transformed a world. Historically few men have been as effective in furthering the life of Jesus Christ as this apostle born out of due time (1 Corinthians 15:8 KJV). His writings dominate the New Testament. Narratives of how God used this man overshadow the second half of the Book of Acts. Of all men and women who’ve ever been ministers of the Gospel, no doubt Paul’s ministry runs at the forefront as both succeeding and fruitful.

However, as I perused 2 Corinthians chapter 4, verse 1 from the English Standard Bible, something new dawned upon me at the words, “…having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart.” The missive seems to imply that even the Apostle Paul found the possibility of losing heart over pressures of the ministry—whether internal or external.

Though we look at the body of Paul’s work as a huge success, apparently, personally he didn’t always view it that way. It’s interesting to me that the thought of “losing heart” even comes up—I mean, this is THE APOSTLE PAUL we’re talking about here! Yet, in this verse he’s pointing out his need for mercy in the midst of this great commission. In fact, the Message Bible has an interesting way of saying these thoughts:

“Since God has so generously let us in on what he is doing, we’re not about to throw up our hands and walk off the job just because we run into occasional hard times.”

Do the words “I quit” mean anything to you? Apparently they did to the Apostle Paul. But, walking off the job was not an option of consideration as the mercy of God was ever prevalent for the ministry given to him. God’s grace was available to help Paul through all the hard times! In fact, by God’s enabling power he found the courage to move forward—we read that Kenneth Wuest translates this verse as:

“Because of this, having this ministry [of the new testament] even as we were made the objects of mercy [in its bestowal], we do not lose courage,”

So, when difficulties arise, whether internal or external, the opportunity for finding the grace of God elevates above the level of giving up and quitting. If we’ve reached the point of frustration—throwing up our hands and walking off the job—remember the mercy of God is greater. Before saying, “I quit” to the ministry generously given, discover God’s grace can give help in time of need!

J. Robert Hanson

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Are You Weary?

“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9 ESV

This is an interesting little verse. The one thing it makes clear is how deeply the Bible understands the basics of human nature—a certain degree of stamina is required to stay focused on doing what’s right. You’d think that wouldn’t be the case. When it comes to “doing good” we expect that a natural never-exhausting flow of energy should come from us.

Evidently, that’s not the case! In fact, I’ve discovered most the time it’s just the opposite. It seems that with loathsome mischief behaviors comes this never-ending fountain of vigor. In high school there were always certain kids (generally boys) who excelled at pranks and rebel rousing. If something of a mischievous nature happened, you’d find the source of the problem by contacting one or two miscreants.

And rarely ever do these troublemakers confess, “I’m tired of pulling pranks—I want to quit—I want to be good person!” Thankfully, the occasional makeover does happen. A delinquent’s conversion occurs and society, loving a good transformation story, offers all the accolades and hurrahs meant for a prince. But in the shadows, eclipsed by the sunshine of the convert, is the soul that has spent a whole lifetime doing the good. Life isn’t fair! And at such a sight the individual persistently working hard at the good becomes disillusioned.

If you’re that person, this verse is for you! Paul writes, “Let us not grow weary in doing good.” In fact, I think this verse possibly just may be for everyone who’s grown exhausted by the activity of doing what’s right.

Weariness is lacking strength, energy, or freshness. In Galatians 6, verse 9 the word “weary” in the Greek language means to be spiritless, exhausted, lose heart, and to despair.¹ That’s the danger Paul is warning about—losing your drive to “do good” and giving up! The Kenneth Wuest Translation captures this thought in Galatians 6, verse 9 as it reads:

Let us not slacken our exertions by reason of the weariness that comes with prolonged effort in habitually doing that which is good.

Dullness sets in from the blunting edge of weariness. Service for God loses value and the loss of hope results in discouragement leading to giving up.

To combat weariness let’s read the end of verse 9 from The Amplified Bible:

…for in due time and at the appointed season we shall reap, if we do not loosen and relax our courage and faint.

That little statement gives us a way to combat weariness. If the idea of weariness is losing our motivation for “doing good,” then we’ve got to discover a tangible motivation in the opposite direction! We read, “In due time and at the appointed season we shall reap.”

The Bible scholar John Stott once wrote of this verse:

Some incentive is certainly needed in Christian well-doing. Paul recognizes this, for he urges his readers not to ‘grow weary’ or ‘lose heart’. Active Christian service is tiring, exacting work. We are tempted to become discouraged, to slack off, even to give up. So the apostle gives us this incentive: he tells us that doing good is like sowing seed. If we persevere in sowing, then ‘in due season we shall reap, if we do not lose heart’.²

Persevere in doing good knowing that eventually a profitable crop comes from sowing! This is the tangible motivation for overcoming weariness. Are you weary? According to Paul refocusing our values from immediate gratification to the end results will renew spiritual life!

J. Robert Hanson

 

¹ 1573 enkakeo | ekkakeo Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words

² (Stott, J. R. W. The message of Galatians: Only one way. Leicester, England; Downer’s Grove, Ill., U.S.A.: Inter-Varsity Press or The Bible Speaks Today NT)

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Jack and the Beanstalk 2.0

I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building. 1 Corinthians 3:6-9 ESV

I’m no horticulturist! However, to my surprise (with no small thanks to my wife and friend Sterling), the flowerbed in my front yard has finally advanced beyond looking like something out of a Louis L’Amour novel filled with blowing tumbleweeds! Sterling gave the ideas, I planted and my wife waters. Yet, even after all our efforts I’ve come to acknowledge that it’s God who gives the growth. It’s as if something finally magically clicked and all at once dead things have come to life. It reminds me a bit of the story of Jack and the Beanstalk.

Jack and his mother were poor. Their main source of income was a cow that graciously provided milk. One day the bovine no longer produced a product to sell and Jack’s mother sent the lad off to the market, cow in tow. As the story goes, just before reaching town our young hero was presented an offer he couldn’t refuse. A grifter with a handful of enchantment made a proposal—magic beans for the cow. Being content in his own wisdom, the young lad returned home to mom with a pocket full of promise instead of cash. At the revelation of the foolish deal, and in a fit of fury, Jack’s mother took the beans and tossed them out the window in despair of circumstance. When morning came the discovery was made that a huge beanstalk had grown overnight out of the tragic magic beans.

Just as Jack in the story, I have no idea how the actual growth in my flowerbed takes place, I’m just thankful it’s there—notwithstanding my great lack of horticultural gift. The fairy tale reminds me of what Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 3, verse 6:

I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.

I learn three things from this little adventure:

1). God can work despite me. When it comes to growing plants, I’m not blessed with an overabundance of aptitude. My confession: over the years I’ve killed my share of greenery. Whether planting too deep, or too shallow, or too close together, the little saplings have never stood much of a chance until God gave growth.

In a spiritual sense, despite my past failures and faults, God can and will give increase to anything He desires to see grow. It is only God who gives the growth. Miracles are abundant, not because of my “gift,” but, as a result of His mysterious working will!

2). God can work because of me. The statement does not mean that God needs me to help—quite the contrary. I find, in actuality, He can use any planter He wants. Verse 7 reads:

So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.

Seeing the privilege that I’m included as God’s fellow worker is the point! The choice I made to be involved in planting is the decision that’s carries great joy. This happiness of witnessing growth is reward enough and gives affirmation to say, “Hey, I was able to make a contribution to see that development take place!”

3). God will work because He is God. Ultimately, it’s God that deserves the praise! Sure, Jack’s beanstalk grew despite of the careless effort of planting. The morning’s discover of the gigantic stem was apart from any struggle of Jack’s, or his mom’s. It’s all about the magic in the seed itself. The thing grew because of the character of the beans—magic beans!

In our case, growth happens because of the mystery of God’s working. The supernatural developments are a result of the character of God and what He desires to see mature. And, as God’s fellow worker, my part is to just enjoy God’s field of enterprise—in fact, in truth I am that enterprise: For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.

So, the next time I step out my front door and look at the flowerbed I’ll be reminded that it’s God who gives the increase and growth. Just like Jack and the Beanstalk, I can relax and let His efforts prevail!

J. Robert Hanson

The Complete Victories of Life

“Then Esther spoke again to the king. She fell at his feet and wept and pleaded with him to avert the evil plan of Haman the Agagite and the plot that he had devised against the Jews. When the king held out the golden scepter to Esther, Esther rose and stood before the king…” Esther 8: 3-5 (ESV)

Just prior to this incident, Haman—enemy of the Jews—was executed upon gallows he had built for Esther’s kinfolk, Mordecai. By this one decisive final act of vanquishing the adversary it was hoped a long season of peace and serenity would follow. Sadly, that’s not the case. Still lingering like a troubling cancer was the earlier orchestrated edict created by the hand of Haman to annihilate Esther’s race. He was gone—his misdeeds lingered on. And though a significant battle was won, a war was still progressing.

You see, not all victories are as instantaneous and thorough like we hope. The defeat of Haman was only the start of ending the terrible nightmare pressed upon the Jewish people. The work-in-progress was defeating the devilish plan of annihilating the Hebrews—a strategy set in motion and unchangeably legislated before Haman went to meet his Maker face-to-face.

Many times issues have deeper roots than first imagined. We don’t always see it as we’re caught-up with the joy of being release of a major problem. The ancillary issues takes awhile to manifest. The answer: a cursory remedy always needs an absolute commitment to find complete victory.

My wife’s computer contracted a nasty virus. She installed some program awhile back that self-started every time she turned on the machine. The results were annoying. She’d go online to visit websites and popup advertisements would open indiscriminately one right after the other. It was annoying and aggravating. She defeated that problem by installing a popup blocker. It resolved the immediate crisis and she was as happy as a pig in the mud.

However, over time she noticed her computer was running slower than ever. She’d won the battle but not the war. She finally contacted someone who knew what they were doing with computers and together they discovered a nasty little program running in the background of the computer’s operating system—effectively eating CPU processing power. They uninstalled the repugnant program and the war was won, victory complete!

Esther must come before the king to plead her case. She must again brave the bowing of the golden scepter to intercede her case for her people. The point being, not all problems have an immediate fix. Courage must continue in the face of adversity in order to press through to victory. Faith must increase to realize deliverance. The victorious must continue to press to completion to gain the complete victories of life.

J. Robert Hanson

If Only!

Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” John 11:32 ESV

Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” John 11:32 ESV

Martha and Mary had virtually the same words for Jesus as they meet Him for the first time after the death of their brother Lazarus. That little phrase in verse 32, “Lord, if you had been here,” reads in The Message Bible, “Master, if only you had been here.” While the word choice of “if only” expresses the emotions of the moment, it also calls into question affairs of the past.

How many times have we ever thought, “If only this other thing had happened.” If only the market hadn’t crashed. If only I’d not bought this car. If only I’d not taken this job. If only I’d turned right instead of left. The “if only’s” of life go on-and-on. They’ll bug the daylights out of us if we let them. It doesn’t matter whether the “if only” was our choice or someone else’s, the idiom still plagues us as thoughts of second-guessing the way life could have been.

Here’s the problem: “if only’s” can be one of the great destroyers of faith. There’s a spiritual principle governing the way those loving God choose to look at circumstances. Romans 8, verse 28 reads:

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

Our musings of “If only” question whether “all things work together for good.” They basically ruin what we know and understand God’s goodness to be. If you believe God leads you, then walk in the confidence of what you know His goodness is all about—nothing wavering. To the person who loves God and is walking by faith according to His purpose, all the affairs of life are in God’s guiding hands working together for good.

Relief from anxiety and doubt occurs if only we’ll choose to believe He works for our good!

J. Robert Hanson