Seek His guidance, wisdom, peace and joy
This weekend's Epistle reading from 1 Corinthians 9 includes verses that were very instrumental in me starting down the path that eventually led to me becoming a pastor. As a part of a religion project during my junior year at Milwaukee Lutheran High School, my teacher assigned each of us a section of 1 Corinthians to thoroughly study and then present to the entire class, followed by feedback from our classmates. I found myself enjoying digging into the Scriptures and presenting what I had learned, and the feedback I received was that it seemed very natural to me and easy to understand. And so I began thinking more seriously about being a pastor, wondering if I had the gifts and abilities for that and if that's what God really wanted me to do.
There were some bumps along the way, including some wondering if my visual impairment would be too much of a hindrance. There were times of self-doubt. But, when all was said and done, I kept coming back to the conclusion that this is what God has wired me to do. What about you? What led you to the point you are in right now in life? Even if you are at a point where you are no longer pulling in a paycheck from a place of employment, are you content, seeing how God has wired you to be what you are right now, whether it be a caregiver, a volunteer who helps others in a variety of ways, or maybe pursuing a hobby you never had time to do before? Or if you are at the other end of the timeline, still in school or just starting out in the workforce, are you happy with the direction you're headed? Does it seem right? How can you tell one way or another?
In this weekend's Gospel reading from Mark 1, we hear these words: "Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where He prayed." (v. 35) What an excellent example we have of Jesus talking things out with His Father - something you and I have the privilege of doing as well. But how do we pray? It begins with thanksgiving for the gift of prayer and our Lord's goodness as we rejoice in His many blessings, and continues with honesty and openness about what we're feeling as far as the direction we want to go, our fears, recognition of our failures, and surrender of control, even if it means the Lord still may want us where we don't want to be or has something else that He has gifted us to do rather than what we might be dreaming of for ourselves.
As we do that, the Holy Spirit has a marvelous way of working in us a true passion for serving the Lord and confidence that we're doing what He's wired us to do. That does not mean that we'll be perfect in everything we do (you have a very imperfect pastor). Nor does it mean that there won't be some challenging days when you aren't particularly content. But through it all we have the joy of being able to come to our Lord in prayer as we seek His guidance and wisdom, His peace, and His joy. And in love He answers.