Never Too Busy

These past few months of summer have been packed with special events and gatherings, and the church calendar for this fall is already filling up as well. We've been blessed and have experienced a lot of growth over the last year. With that growth comes great responsibility to be a shining light in our community.

We all seem to be busier than ever with school, work and extra-curricular activities. But I would like to challenge everyone (including myself) not to get so busy that we overlook ministry opportunities that God places in our paths.

On Sunday night (8-16-09), Bro. Rick preached about not missing ministry opportunities. He read from 1 Kings 17:1-16 (about Elijah and the widow woman). We can learn a lot from Elijah's actions in this passage:

1. If God is leading you to do something, He will provide for your needs. In 1 Kings 17, we read about Elijah delivering an unpopular message from God to His people. After Elijah told the people that there would be a drought, God told him to go hide because the people wanted to kill him. Elijah obeyed, and God provided for his needs by sending ravens to bring him food.
2. God brings people into our lives to help us and for us to help them. In this story, God sent Elijah to a widow woman so that she could help Elijah. But God also sent Elijah there because the widow needed help as well.
3. God places inside of us what we need to help others. Because Elijah had seen God provide his needs in the past, he was able to assure this widow woman that God's word is true and that she could believe in God's promises. Everything that we go through gives us each a unique testimony that can help us witness to our peers and bring others to Christ. Remember, you're not the only one to go through struggles, and God uses our experiences to reach others for Him.
4. We should never be too busy to see the brokenness around us to be there for someone that has a need. Even when we're trying to minister, we can get too wrapped up in the to-do lists, numbers, statistics, etc. We always have to be aware of the hurting that's going on around us and be willing to help others. Elijah saw the widow's need and gave her a promise from God. We also have a promise from God to share - the promise of SALVATION! It's a promise that's for everyone we meet, and we need to share it!

We have to be obedient to God's calling on our lives and we can not miss the ministry opportunities that He places in our paths.