I have been doing ministry this whole race but every day has looked different. Some days the team and I were taken to a public playground to fix up the landscaping, some days we walked the streets and evangelized, some days we taught English, some days we planned youth events, and some days we would worship and minister to our ministry hosts. It feels as though each day we would wake up not knowing what type of ministry we would be a part of until we were in it. The Lord moved in showing the team and I that no matter the inconsistency and unpredictability of ministry, the greatness of His love is always available. So we pressed in day after day.
But the past two months have been different. I had the privilege of going to school each day and assisting a 3rd grade teacher. Day after day I got to help the teacher with tasks that would take her away from actually teaching the students, become friends and minister to her, and give the children love and attention. As the teacher did not always have something for me to do, I also got time to observe the class and pray. So here are some observations, thoughts, and revelations from my time with this class.
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The students could be naughty time after time, but as soon as a child go hurt the teacher would lovingly embrace them and hear out the situation. She would then go with the child to the source of hurt and seek out reconciliation. How beautiful that these children could rely on the protection and comfort of love. How lovely it is that the teacher did not hold back from providing these things. She disciplined them, and it felt harsh. But she loved them and was the children’s greatest supporter. They are just children of trauma needing an immense amount of love. The teacher showed up for the children in both ways time and again.
Discipline is love. As psalm 23 says, “your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” I recently learned the difference in purpose of a rod and staff. The staff has a hook on the end in order to pull the sheep out of a sticky situation. But a rod is used to break the back leg of the sheep when it strays away. The shepherd will then carry the sheep on his shoulder and care for it as it heals and gains strength. By the end of the process, the sheep will trust the shepherd more. It is similar with us and God; He disciplines us yet He deeply cares for us. He attends to our wounds and to us in times of sickness. We trust Him because He loves us enough to discipline us instead of watch us go astray. When we are with Him we are truly taken care of. Proverbs 3:12 “because the Lord disciplines those He loves, as a father the son he delights in.” Revelation3:19-20 “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent.”
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How beautiful it is that I don’t have to do anything for God, but get to do everything with God. When He says that He is with us, it means that I always get to be with Him. No more striving. No more performance. I’m covered and accepted by Jesus. There is nothing in life, nothing in the day to day that I have to do alone. But as His presence lives in me, I get to do everything with Him.
As I sat, observing the 3rd grade class each day, I began to see the difference. When a student worked for the approval of the teacher or did something just because she asked, apathy would easily kick in. The students would become unmotivated, and the idea of never being able to achieve the status they longed for became their defeat. But when the teacher called out the potential in a student, or personally walked a student through the assignment, things were different. The student would then become more motivated, knowing that success was at hand. Even in the failure they had the security of the teacher’s embrace and support. They were now working from a place of approval not for it. THAT. That is the difference in working for the Lord and working with Him. How much more secure will we become if we know what it means to be covered by Jesus. Not only does He make our wrongs right, but when the Father looks at us He sees Jesus’s perfect life purifying us. If only we knew the Father’s perspective of us, that He has already accepted us in this way. If only we remembered that there is no veil separating us from the love and presence of God. We wouldn’t have to do things to gain His approval anymore. That can be broken. We never have to figure it out on our own, but we can lean into His presence and enjoy doing life from there. He never leaves us nor forsakes us. God is with us in the valley and the mountain. His presence is as light even in the darkness. Nothing remains unknown to Him. He remains in you. Remain in Him.
With all my love,
Sadie
