Skip to main content

Messy People




I spend a lot of time with messy people. After all, helping messy people is what I do. But recently, God has been sending me some people who are even messier than usual. And, I haven't responded very well.


 I don't like being screamed at in my office. I don't really like when other people scream at each other in my office. I don't like hostile clients who insist that they have no problems and everyone else is to blame. I don't like injustice or when people sin against my clients in a gross and habitual manner and they hurt. Mostly, I don't like when these things are happening and I start to feel powerless and completely unable to do anything that will help bring about change.

I tell God that I feel overwhelmed and I do not think that I am equipped to handle these kinds of clients.

I hear Him respond, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." (Matthew 9:12-13)

 I enjoy working with those people who are aware of their brokenness and partnering with God to become whole. But, they are already on the path to eternal life. It is those who are still walking the road straight to destruction that most need mercy. These are the people that Jesus intentionally ministered to. Why am I so surprised that He is asking me to pursue them with Him?

 I don't say it aloud, but I think, "Can't you just send them to someone else? They don't really want to work with me anyways."

 I hear Peter speak, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God." (John 6: 68-69)

 Jesus gently reminds me that I have words of eternal life because His Spirit lives within me. I can offer these especially broken and miserable people life because I have believed and have come to know that Jesus is the Holy One of God. God asks me, "Jody, to whom shall I send them, if not to you?"

I know that I have to respond in obedience because I love the One who asks me. But, my heart is also moved with compassion toward those who are so precious to Him. I choose to lean into God and ask Him to enable me to do this beautiful and painful work that is so important to Him. I commit more time to intercession for my clients and choose to see them as the flock entrusted to my care. I don't want to abandon them to the harsh elements because I grow weary of caring for them and feel inadequate. I remember that my struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against powers and principalities and I put on the full armor of God every day (Ephesians 6:10-18). I rejoice that God has invited me to join Him in this work of healing and I entrust myself and my work to His loving leadership. I ask God to do the impossible and bring eternal life and freedom to the most desperate of people.

 Still Counting Gifts:
  • #650: A new work schedule for a new season of work
  • #651: How inadequacy always reminds me of my incredible need for God
  • #652: Our Christmas tree framing the window and adding beauty to the house
  • #653: An unexpected phone call with a dear friend living far away
  • #654: How a long drive can be soothing
  • #655: Taking a long nap in the middle of the day for the sheer pleasure of it
  • #656: Psalm 46:10 and how God always knows how to help me be still and send the anxiety away as I think of the truth that He is God
  • #657: One of my colleagues sponsored yummy Chinese food for lunch
  • #658: Time at the HOP to start my week well

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

3 weeks ago today

I got married three weeks ago today. I’ve been thinking a lot about our wedding since that day. This was my first week back to work, which meant that I got to talk a lot about that day and show pictures, because everything is still fresh and new and people are anxious to know how it went. I have missed writing. Several times during our honeymoon, I almost grabbed my laptop because I had the urge to write. I never did, but I wanted to. I think that it felt too intimate to record in some ways. And, in others, I was just enjoying being lazy and carefree. I plan to write about what I remember from my wedding. (Maybe even some things from our honeymoon. We shall see…) I don’t know what I will share, but I want to make a record of my memories and experiences from that day. Just three weeks later, but the feelings are less vivid and the mental pictures are less crisp. Fortunately, our photographer did an amazing job and I am thankful that I have those images to remind me....
2 comments
Read more

Heart Revival

Hey you guys, It's been almost two years since my last post. What?! I know some of you probably forgot that I even used to do this, but I hope that you're as excited as I am that I'm coming back to blogging. It's a new season and God has been stirring up lots of creativity and courage in me recently. I'm happy to tell you all about it. In case you missed it, I became a mom to sweet Elias last summer. In fact, he is about to turn 1 year old on Monday and I can't believe it! Guys, he is absolutely the sweetest, calmest and most delightful baby you can ever imagine and I still tear up sometimes in gratitude when I remember that he is my little boy. One of my life dreams to be a stay-at-home mama has been partially fulfilled in that I only work three days a week during the school year. I work 2 1/2 days at RCS Elementary School and it is an amazing place. Shortly after I got there, they put me in charge of the two chapel services that happen each week. Gu...
1 comment
Read more
Dear Me at 16, First, take a deep breath and try to relax. You're not receiving this letter because you are bad or in trouble. To the contrary, I'm writing to you because I care about you and I know that it's hard for you to let others be caring toward you. You feel exposed and vulnerable, wondering if the person will stumble across all those imperfections that you work so hard to hide. You feel afraid of how they might judge you if they knew how needy, fragile and broken you actually are behind your put-together facade. I want to let you know that it's not your fault that you are this way. At least, it's not entirely your fault. Your desire to encourage and help other people is a wonderful, God-given part of your personality that influences you to put yourself in the position of helper. And this is an important part of how God has made you because it relates to the high calling that He has placed on your life to partner with Him in restoring people. Being t...
Post a Comment
Read more