"And now I say to you, keep away from these men and let them alone; for if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing; but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it--lest you even be found to fight against God." Acts 5:38-39 The Message translation says, "...If this program or this work is merely human, it will fall apart, but if it is of God, there is nothing you can do about it--you better not be found fighting against God."
This verse jumped out at me a few months ago as I was torn between two different paths to take with myMISSION. Do we wait around for things to happen and wait for others to catch up or do we forge our own path, leaving behind what many (including myself) wanted to see happen and go a little independent of organizational structure?
There was so much confusion, apprehension and inner turmoil over what was supposed to have been the logical direction to take and one that I thought would totally benefit both the organization and myMISSION PIEDMONT. During this time, God also brought I Corinthians 14:33 to mind: "For God is not the author of confusion but of peace...."
These two verses were instrumental in getting me to stop and take a breath. Confusion was becoming my constant state of life that distracted me from what God called me to do. And honestly, nothing productive came from that time (both personally and in ministry), and it's time we'll never get back.
These verses forced me to make decisions that were hard to make and even harder to let go of (and I’m still working through that). These verses also reminded me that myMISSION PIEDMONT is God's work, not mine and not the leadership team’s. When I am in sync with God and when the leadership team is in sync with God, myMISSION is inevitably in sync with God, too, because our leadership and decisions are rooted in Him, not in ourselves and in our own ideas.
Being a leader is a scary responsibility. One careless, thoughtless, selfish decision/word/action can ruin our ministry and influence in an instant (sorry, but it's the hard truth)! Leadership requires being mindful that a decision isn't just a decision and the impact of it can be far-reaching. It’s hard to be mindful in the busyness, planning and relationship building that naturally come with a leadership role.
If you look at Acts 5:38-39 in relation to your ministry, I'm sure you can think of moments when decisions were made from man (aka yourself) vs. made from God. We can recall moments when we want to cringe because we know the motivation behind some decisions. Yet, we can also recall many more moments when God flowed through and it was evident to all that He was in His work.
These two verses challenge us to make sure that wherever God sends us, it is of Him and that it remains in Him. When things start getting complicated and confusing, it's an indication that we need to stop and see where our focus is (and how close to being “overthrown” we are).
When it's honestly God's work and when we can remove ourselves from it, God can work around man's roadblocks. He changes a "no" into "yes" and opens closed doors according to what works best for His plan. And, the best part is that He usually does it in the most roundabout, amazing and speechless ways that speak so loudly of Him that all the glory goes straight back to Him! It's comforting and reassuring that this is His work and it will stand as long as He is in it!
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