In the year since my dad went to be with Christ, I’ve been converting a large library of his sermons from analog to digital. There was a sermon he preached in August of 1986 that really grabbed me due to his vulnerability. Listening brought back a memory from my childhood.
When I was a little kid I loved visiting my Pastor-Father in his office. I would spend time opening and going through his desk drawers, taking time to look at all the office supplies that filled those drawers. . . including the many rubber stamps and ink pads that were especially tempting to my young self. When I listened to his August 1986 sermon, “The Cure For The Troubled Soul”, I realized that there was one thing I can’t remember ever noticing in his drawers. It was a note he had written to himself that he kept in his desk. It was a short reminder note that was needed in times of ministry discouragement and difficulty. He talked about that note in his sermon.
Those in ministry know that those are the times when you start to question yourself and God. Those are the times when the accusatory arrows shot by the enemy come perilously close to taking you out.
So. . . what was written on that note? He shared the words in that sermon he preached on “The Cure For The Troubled Soul” back in August of 1986. . .
“I know that God is all powerful and that this world is in His control. I know that God, the same God who is all powerful and who controls this world, also loves me, and is concerned about me. I know that God has called me into His service. I know that since God has called me, He will not leave me alone, but will reveal His will to me, and will provide for my needs. Since I know these facts to be true, I will trust God to do with my life what He thinks best.”
Perhaps we would all do well in times of plenty to write ourselves a note to read in times of want.
Ed Welch in his book study, When I Am Afraid talks about the knowing the fact that God promises to always be with us can help us overcome our fears.