Living for a Greater Cause

Recently a pastor friend of mine accepted a position at his denominational headquarters to lead a national ministry. As I pondered his move and the impact on his church, I wondered who the congregation might call to shepherd God’s people there. For a fleeting moment I wondered if it could be me. That thought seemed fairly ridiculous considering the current path the Lord has me on, but, none the less, I mulled over the possibility.

A day after returning home from our current business trip, I drove to the local RV dealer to pick up some parts I had ordered. As I was heading home I sensed the Lord telling me to ‘take a ride’ with Him. Since my return to the Fathers house in 2001, He has often asked me to take a ride with Him because He wishes to communicate with me.

As we drove, we passed several churches and ended up in the parking lot of my friends church. I sat there for a few moments waiting to hear from the Lord. Nothing of significance dropped into my spirit, so I headed home. As I drove the few miles back to our house, the thought of me pastoring any church seemed fairly remote.

Between the commitments with our business and a real lack of being ‘properly equipped’, I dismissed the idea. That was until I pulled up to the next stop light and saw the license plate on the car in front of me. It read ‘Phil 413’, the scripture from today’s devotional, ‘I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.’ Seeing that license plate stopped me dead mid thought. It reminded me that if the Lord calls you to do something, He will provide you with everything you need.

Was all of this a random happening in life, absolutely not. If you seek the Lord, He will reveal Himself to you and the path He wants you to walk. Has He called me to pastor a church? I do not believe so at this point in my life. However, if He ever does, He will give me everything I need to meet His call. He has proven that to me time and time again and reminded me of that reality on our ride.

What seemingly impossible task is He calling you to do today? Your thought shouldn’t be am I properly trained, but is it what He wants me to do. I have found the Lord does not call the equipped, He equips the called. Pray, seek His face and He will reveal His perfect will for your life.

Blessings

Living for a Greater Cause
by Os Hillman

“I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13

What does it mean for workplace believers to live for a cause greater than themselves in our day and time? Jeremiah Lanphier was a businessman in New York City who asked God to do this in his life in 1857.

In a small, darkened room, in the back of one of New York City’s lesser churches, a man prayed alone. His request of God was simple, but earth-shattering: “Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?” [John Woodbridge, ed., More Than Conquerors (Chicago, Illinois: Moody Press, 1992), 337]

He was a man approaching midlife without a wife or family, but he had financial means. He made a decision to reject the “success syndrome” that drove the city’s businessmen and bankers. God used this businessman to turn New York City’s commercial empire on its head. He began a businessmen’s prayer meeting on September 23, 1857. The meetings began slowly, but within a few months 20 noonday meetings were convening daily throughout the city. The New York Tribune and the New York Herald issued articles of revival. It had become the city’s biggest news. Now a full-fledged revival, it moved outside New York. By spring of 1858, 2,000 met daily in Chicago’s Metropolitan Theatre, and in Philadelphia the meetings mushroomed into a four-month long tent meeting. Meetings were held in Baltimore, Washington, Cincinnati, Chicago, New Orleans, and Mobile. Thousands met to pray because one man stepped out. Annus Mirabilis, the year of national revival, had begun.

This was an extraordinary move of God through one man. It was unique because the movement was lead by businessmen, a group long considered the least prone to any form of evangelical fervor, and it had started on Wall Street, the most unlikely of all places to begin.

Could God do something extraordinary through you? Take a step. Ask God to do mighty things through you.