In the Blink of an Eye
One morning, at the entrance of our subdivision, I met a tree company. The workers were actively taking down one of my neighbors trees. This tree was huge! At least two stories tall, maybe more. Stretching tall to the sky with branches full of leaves, it provided ample shade for my neighbors back yard. There was just one major problem, this 70-year-old tree had the appearance of health, but its core was rotten. Part of the tree was full of honey bees. The other part of the tree had taken on disease and was rotting away from the inside out. The life of the tree was ebbing from it and it no longer, though it looked alive, could provide safe shade for our neighbor. The tree had become a hazard.
I drove out of my neighborhood and came back in less than an hour, and this once vibrant looking two-story tree was gone. In what seemed like, the blink of an eye, the tree was missing from the landscape. The debris field for taking down this massive tree was enormous. There were two large dump trucks to haul the limbs away, and there was a small front loader with a rope attached to the massive trunk of the tree. This small front loader backed up and pulled the rope tight. Then with what I thought would have taken much more effort – the trunk of the tree with roots attached came tumbling out of the earth, revealing even more rotten disease.
You know where I’m going with this story, right? In the glasshouse, you and I can externally look good! We can manage our lives to the point of painting the picture of being mature, active, growing believers. Spiritually maturing might have been an accurate description early on in ministry, and then religion and the busyness of this life took over. Ministry lifestyle can create a shallow religious life. Let’s face it. We are in the business of religion, and if we are not mindful religious legalism reigns. We could quite possibly become Pharisees. Like the Pharisees of long ago, we can quote scripture and theology and even pass judgment easily on those we have been called to shepherd – all the while we offer no grace or mercy in our hearts for those who seem not to get it all together! We filter everything through our religious filter. It’s entirely possible, Jesus himself, (The perfect One.) could or would not live up to our standard of grace and mercy. We check the boxes off our spiritual walk, like checking off our shopping or to-do list. We begin to live lives of looking good on the outside but dying on the inside. The canopy of life we produced years ago can flourish, for a season, but what we did early in life will not grow deeper unless we pursue the One who called us in the beginning!
What’s a girl to do?
1. Make sure your intimacy with the Lord is the priority! Not the latest Bible Study, favorite speaker, or preacher (even if he’s your hubby!) Your personal time with the Lord (where you aren’t talking the entire time) is a must. A prayer time balanced with stillness and conversation. Waiting and listening for Him to speak through His Word and His Spirit living within you! (Psalm 119:114; Psalm 69:13; Psalm 46:10; Ephesians 6:18; Matthew 6:6-18)
2. Permit God to reveal the places where sin has crept in. Set aside some personal time where you are allowing the conviction of the Holy Spirit to penetrate your heart. As long as we are living, we can and do become blind to our own sin. (Psalm 119:11; 139:23; Psalm 66:18; Isaiah 59:2; Matthew 6:13-15; Luke 17:4; John 8:7-11; I John 1:7-9; 2:2; Galatians 5-6)
3. Deal with your woundedness. Everyone working in the church will incur wounds. Ministry is a front line battle. You will be wounded! Don’t let them fester! Don’t bury your emotions. Present them often to the Lord and allow healing to come. Make a conscious effort of acknowledging the people and events that have caused wounding. (Matthew 6:13-15; Psalm 38:5; Psalm 147:3; Proverbs 26:10; Proverbs 27:6; Jer. 30:17; I Peter 2:24; Acts 28:19; Luke 6:18-19;
Don’t become a hazard.
Examine your heart and make sure that you are growing deep roots of authenticity and intimacy.
Do not let the enemy win! (Ephesians 6:10-24)
Do the hard work!
The Holy Spirit already knows. You know. Eventually, everyone else will too.
Diane Nix is the director and founder of Contagious Joy 4 Him, a network of encouragement to ministry wives around the globe. They are offering “Free Refresh Retreats” and a safe place for ministry wives to share their hearts with other like-minded women. Thirty-five years ago, she married her husband, pastor/professor, Dr. Preston Nix. He is a professor of evangelism and evangelistic preaching at NOBTS. They have two biological daughters, two spiritual-grown daughters, two grands, and two son’s in-laws. Diane’s life bears the scars of addiction, abuse, loss, and dysfunction. She remembers being drawn to spiritual things. Searching for the One who could bring peace, she found her Savior, Jesus Christ! And soon after her salvation, she surrendered to ministry. She has never looked back! More here.
