F is for Fortune ~ Guest Post by Elizabeth Danna

 

Peter turned and saw following them the disciple whom Jesus loved… When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? Follow me!” John 21:20–22 RSV

Fortune and Men’s Eyes

Of the 154 sonnets written by William Shakespeare, my favorite is Sonnet 29, “When in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes” (published 1609). The second section of this poem reads, “Wishing me like to one more rich in hope/Featured like him, like him with friends possessed/Desiring this man’s art and that man’s scope/With what I most enjoy contented least.” Simply put, the poet wants to be like men he knows who are better-looking or have more friends or more skills. In other words, he’s comparing himself with others, and this is leading him to be discontented. 

I know how easy it is to fall into the trap of comparing oneself with others. But it does us no good. If we compare ourselves with others when we’re doing well, we’re likely to compare ourselves with someone who isn’t doing as well as we are, and we’ll end up feeling superior; if we compare ourselves with others when we aren’t doing well, we’ll probably compare ourselves with someone who’s doing better than we are, and we’ll end up feeling even worse about ourselves than we already do. So the result of our comparison ends up depending on our mood – hardly a reliable standard! 

Comparison is the mistake that Peter made in his last conversation with the risen Jesus. When he asked what would happen to John, Jesus told Peter to focus on his own relationship with Jesus, not John’s. That kind of comparison isn’t what God wants. God made you, not someone else. He gave you a unique combination of characteristics and gifts which makes you uniquely suited to what God has called you to do. He loves you and values you as you are. His opinion of us matters more than anyone else’s. It’s a mistake to jealously want someone else’s characteristics, or to look down on ourselves because we have certain characteristics and not others. Let’s avoid I wish I were as smart as she is, or I wish I had as many friends as he does. This kind of thinking gets our focus onto ourselves instead of God. We honour our Maker when we accept ourselves and the gifts and characteristics that He’s given us. He loves us and values us as we are, so let’s not compare ourselves with others.

Elizabeth Danna, Ph.D., was born and raised near Toronto, where she still lives. She has worked for Crossroads, a large Canadian ministry, for many years. Her hobbies include music and needlework, but her main passion is the Word of God. She is trained in New Testament Studies, and has a desire to help people understand the Word so that they can grow spiritually. She recently published Through the Lens of Faith: Devotions on Life, the Universe, and Everything, from Resource Publications. She has also written two small-group Bible studies, From Gethsemane to Pentecost (2011) and The Stories of Jesus: A Study in the Parables of Jesus (2016) both from Wipf & Stock. 

E is for Endeavor ~ Guest Post by Elizabeth Danna

 

 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”

And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” Isa. 6:8

The Calling

The British TV series Endeavour is a prequel to the series Inspector Morse, which is based on Colin Dexter’s novels. The series’ second season ends with Detective Constable Morse and his mentor, Detective Chief Inspector Thursday, facing down a group of corrupt policemen. The conspiracy is unmasked, but Thursday is shot and seriously wounded, and Morse is falsely accused of murdering the Chief Constable and imprisoned. In the third-season opener, “Ride,” Thursday has recovered and returns to work, but Morse, vindicated and released but traumatised, has gone into hiding. He doesn’t know whether he wants to go back to the police. When Thursday finds Morse, Morse asks him, “Why would you go back?” Thursday answers, “There’s a town wants looking to, and that doesn’t change just because I’ve lost a suit size.” In other words, there’s work to do. Police work is Thursday’s, and Morse’s, calling, and Thursday can’t turn away from it, in spite of the cost to himself. Neither, it turns out, can Morse.

Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Paul are Bible characters who knew how it feels to have a calling you can’t turn away from. Isaiah and Jeremiah were both warned that Israel wouldn’t listen to them (Isa. 6:9-10; Jer. 7:27). But they said what God wanted them to say, even though Israel’s unreceptive response broke their hearts (Jer. 20:7-10). And Paul mentions the sufferings that he went through, and the constant pressure that he was under (2 Cor. 11:24-29). But he also wrote that while he would rather go to be with God, it was better for his readers if he stayed, because there was still work for him to do. So he knew that he would stay (Phil. 1:22-25). 

God has placed a calling on the life of every believer. A person’s calling may be to preach, or to raise godly children, or to serve their community at a food bank. Whatever it is, they’ve probably had to pay a price to carry it out. To make sacrifices of time and effort, and maybe money as well. Maybe they’ve given up a glamorous career opportunity for something less attention-getting but more worthwhile. 

As writers, our calling is to say what God wants us to say. But that takes time and effort. It involves the discipline of scheduling time to write rather than doing something else, and it may involve the discipline and effort of doing careful research. But you’ve probably also found that you can’t turn away from it. Carrying out God’s call on our lives isn’t always easy, but whatever price we have to pay is worth it. 

Elizabeth Danna, Ph.D., was born and raised near Toronto, where she still lives. She has worked for Crossroads, a large Canadian ministry, for many years. Her hobbies include music and needlework, but her main passion is the Word of God. She is trained in New Testament Studies, and has a desire to help people understand the Word so that they can grow spiritually. She recently published Through the Lens of Faith: Devotions on Life, the Universe, and Everything, from Resource Publications. She has also written two small-group Bible studies, From Gethsemane to Pentecost (2011) and The Stories of Jesus: A Study in the Parables of Jesus (2016) both from Wipf & Stock. 

C is for Car Keys ~ Guest Post by Elizabeth Danna

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Gal. 6:9 NIV

 

Kids with Car Keys

A twelve-year-old boy takes the keys to his parents’ car and goes for a joyride. Occasionally a story like this makes the news, and it usually doesn’t end well. It usually ends in a crash, and the reason is a simple one. Twelve-year-olds don’t have the training or the maturity to drive a car. They’re not as ready for adult life as they may think they are. So a wise parent won’t give a child grown-up privileges or responsibilities until they’re ready to handle them. 

Like a wise parent, our heavenly Father doesn’t always give us what we want when we want Him to. This includes the things He has promised us. We may feel His call on our lives and He may confirm it, but He may not open the door to it right away. The reason for that may simply be that we aren’t ready for it yet. We may need more training or spiritual growth before we can do what God has called us to do. If God gives us what He wants us to have before we’re ready for it, we’re likely to ruin it, like a child who crashes their parents’ car. We may think that we’re ready before we actually are. Sometimes God’s answer to our prayers is, “Not yet, not until you’re ready.” This may not be what we want to hear, any more than teenagers want to hear their parents say, “You’re not grown up yet.” That’s why we need to trust in God’s timing, and remember that He knows us better than we know ourselves. Not that this kind of trust is easy! When God anoints us for something, we’re usually eager to start right away! If you’re waiting on God for the opportunity to do what He has called you to do, keep trusting, growing, and getting ready. Keep waiting on God, doing what He has put in front of you now. It can be hard not to get tired of doing the groundwork. But don’t give up. God is faithful and trustworthy. What He has said, He will do. When you’re ready, He’ll give you the keys and release you into your calling. 

Elizabeth Danna, Ph.D., was born and raised near Toronto, where she still lives. She has worked for Crossroads, a large Canadian ministry, for many years. Her hobbies include music and needlework, but her main passion is the Word of God. She is trained in New Testament Studies, and has a desire to help people understand the Word so that they can grow spiritually. She recently published Through the Lens of Faith: Devotions on Life, the Universe, and Everything, from Resource Publications. She has also written two small-group Bible studies, From Gethsemane to Pentecost (2011) and The Stories of Jesus: A Study in the Parables of Jesus (2016) both from Wipf & Stock.