 1 Corinthians 3:5-9 “Who do you think Paul is, anyway? Or Apollos, for that matter? Servants, both of us–-servants who waited on you as you gradually learned to entrust your lives to our mutual Master. We each carried out our servant assignment. I planted the seed, Apollos watered the plants, but God made you grow. It’s not the one who plants or the one who waters who is at the center of this process but God, who makes things grow. Planting and watering are menial servant jobs at minimum wages. What makes them worth doing is the God we are serving. You happen to be God’s field in which we are working.” ~MSG
Paul is saying some good stuff here. We may plant seeds in the soil. Watering them as needed. But we still wait on God with his creative power for the seeds to grow into the flowers or vegetables they are to be. Let’s take this concept into what we do when we attempt to help our brothers and sisters in need. Whether it be trying to help someone financially or someone with an addiction, we must realize as servants there is only so much we can do under our own power. When we do not realize this, we get caught up with unnecessary feelings that come from anxiety. Anxiety that feeds our want and need for ‘success’. We want to feel like we have accomplished victory in our loved one’s shortcomings. But that is a victory we cannot achieve under our own power, In other words, not by ourselves. We must always understand that we are just servants who plant and water. We can plant the ideas and direction in helping our loved ones get financially independent. We can water the seeds we have planted in our loved ones going through addiction. But, physically that is as far as we can go as servants in the field of our Lord. After this we pray. We pray to God because it is Him who has the power of growth to be given to our loved ones. It is God who has the power of healing for those emotionally wounded. Asking God to guide us in doing our part in this miracle that is about to happen, is important. Then, we listen and follow God’s guidance. It is the power of the King that this miracle, the miracle that will come, will be from Him and Him alone. Our loved one’s will need this wisdom because this is what they will lean on to battle their demonic situations. This is what they will need to feed their spirits so that they will have ‘Holy Spirit help’ in battling their fleshly desires. Our part is to plant seeds and water those seeds with spiritual guidance. But it is God “...who gives the growth…’ of their strength and desire to live righteously. So, don’t blame yourselves. Instead focus that energy on praying for guidance as you do your part in lending assistance to our loved ones. After all, it is God who brought you together with them in the first place. He knows what He is doing. Let it be God who will give you both growth, through His miracle.
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 Romans 8:38-39 “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” ~ESV
I have a memory of me when I was attending pre-school on the campus of Tennessee State University here in Nashville. The pre-school was in a building just across the street from Historic Hadley Park. How do I remember something I went through during my pre-school era? Well, it is because it was terrifying. My mother and I were about to get on an elevator. When the doors opened, I went in, like we always do. Now, I don’t remember what I was preoccupied with, but whatever it was, I didn’t realize I was on the elevator alone. My mother was talking to someone and she did not see me get on the elevator. When the doors shut, I turned around and realized I was by myself. Cut off from my only resource, my mother. I was terrified. I remember yelling and screaming because I was so afraid of being alone. In life, anxiety, fear and confusion lead us in the direction of our mistakes. They also lead us to make some bad decisions in our lives. We may not know it, but it comes from an embedded fear of thinking we are alone. We think we have to do things by ourselves. We think, if we don’t decide who will? What we don’t realize is, as God’s children, we must totally rely on God’s direction in our lives. When we go through our ‘elevator’ experiences in life, we must learn to stay calm, because God will never let anything happen to us. Just as the scripture above says, nothing can separate us from God and His love for us. Not even a pair of elevator doors. My mother eventually got that elevator to come back to where she was. And when those doors opened, I ran to her and hugged her with tears in my eyes. I remember her saying to me, “Don’t worry, I won’t let anything happen to you.” Today as I remember her saying that, I not only hear her voice as clear as if it were yesterday; I also hear my Savior’s voice as well saying the same thing. Today, I know that I am not alone. We must continue to build our relationship with the Father so that we can hear Him when He leads. Knowing that he will bring that ‘elevator’, the one we are trapped in, right back to him and open the doors to a new level in our lives. A level we will have earned in the endurance of our fears. Knowing that we are not alone is the first step in embracing our calling as servants to the Most High. Knowing that God will always direct our path and never allow anything to separate us from Him. May God continue to bless you with power, protection and wisdom as you journey in Jesus’ name. Amen |
Authors Billy & YolandaThis is the place where we share our heart through God's Word in faith that will inspire and empower you to live in peace. Archives
January 2026
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