Saturday, September 13, 2014

What's the Plan?

Since I last wrote, a lot has happened in my life. One of the things that the last year has taught me is that there is a reason why things happen, when they happen and where they happen. 

Recently, my wife and I were released to go to Buffalo, N.Y. to help pastor a church that I grew up in. My hero, a.k.a. my dad, is the Senior Pastor there and his staff lead an incredible congregation. Although it came as a shock to many, others already knew that something was already "cooking" inside of me regarding ministry. Little did I know that it would be back in city of my birth. The tough part is that when you build a life somewhere with your family and God calls you to a completely different geographical area, that's not always the easiest thing to do.

 
During this process, a very familiar Biblical person came to me called Moses. After running from the law and fleeing to Midian, you see that he eventually comes back to his own to provide freedom from a four-hundred year long Egyptian captivity. What I notice most about this story was that while he was in Midian minding his own business, a bush caught fire before him, but was not consumed. This bush can typify our passions, our purpose and the plan that God has for us. I will let you interpret that on your own...

God had a call on the life of Moses – before he was born – because his people would eventually need deliverance from their oppressors. When God appears to Moses in that bush, He tells him that He had "heard the cry of His people" and was sending him back to Egypt to set them free. 

This is a pivotal moment for reflection in everyone who believes they are called to ministry. Moses would not have been called unless there were a people that needed deliverance. This proves that ministry is not about you, it's about the people. If you're doing everything to get noticed with a microphone because of your gifts and talents, you've missed the point and it's time to re-access your motives for ministry. Where and when God sends you is not always going to be the perfect place and time. Like my spiritual father says, "Ministry is inconvenient." The conditions aren't always going to be ideal. The place isn't always going to be next to a beach somewhere. That's exactly why He is sending you! This is why God will refine our character through other leadership so that we can learn to eventually lead ourselves and lead the people that we have been called to affect. 

I'll be in Buffalo until God says otherwise. Why? Because I believe that if He is sending me, there is an ear that is waiting to hear my words. There is a heart that is waiting for be revived with passion again. There will always be legacy and a promise to fulfill. 

God's Best, 
Pastor Gaby