When God Hands You the Message
Well now, you’ve come along like a long‑lost friend pullin’ right on into the driveway, bringin’ a smile and a real good story that’s just beggin’ to be shared right up here on this ol’ front porch. So, let me open this here lil’ ol’ gab-fest with a lil’ ol’ picture that’ll make you git to grinnin’ real big. Imagine an ol’ rooster that plainly thinks he’s been duly elected as the mayor of the whole barnyard and he’s struttin’ around like he plum owns the place until he slips on a slick mud patch and suddenly remembers he’s just a bird with some fancy feathers that can’t even fly. That’s just like us sometimes. We plum forget who’s really runnin’ the show around here. God has already handed us the Good News and said plainly in Mark 16:15 to go into all the world and preach it to everyone. And He sho’-‘nuff meant it. First Thessalonians 2:4 reminds us that we speak as messengers approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News and that our purpose is to please God, not people. He alone examines the motives of our hearts.
And, friend, Matthew 5:16 backs that there truth up like a loyal old hound that never leaves the porch. It says to let our light shine so others see our good works and glorify our Father in Heaven. That there means we don’t hide the gospel like an ol’ raccoon that tries to stash leftovers under a leaf and hopes nobody notices. We’ve gotta be sharin’ it. Boldly. Joyfully. Faithfully.
Paul sure understood that there sacred trust. He told Timothy about the glorious Good News entrusted to him by God in 1 Timothy 1:11. And he asked the Romans how anyone could believe unless someone tells them in Romans 10:14-15. That there’s our job. Not the preacher’s alone. Not the missionary’s alone. Ours. God placed family, friends, coworkers, and neighbors in our lives on purpose. They’re our mission field. Our flock. Our spiritual herd of goats that wander everywhere except where we want them to go.
And Jesus sees every doggone bit of our faithfulness. Revelation 22:12 says, “He is coming soon and bringing His reward with Him.” That there reward is tied to obedience, not comfort. Eternity matters more than the temporary things that distract us like a lil’ ol’ squirrel that forgets what it was doin’ when it gits halfway up a tree.
Father, help me be faithful with the gospel You’ve trusted me with. Give me courage like a barn cat that finally decides it’s done being pushed around by the rooster. Help me speak clearly, love deeply, and obey quickly. Let my life shine so others see You and not me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Ok, now, friend, when you leave off this porch and git right on back into your busy world, remember that faithfulness is real steady like an ol’ turtle that keeps ploddin’ along until it reaches the finish line. It’s brave like a beaver that keeps on building even when the river rises. It’s purposeful like a lil’ deer that knows exactly which trail leads home. And it’s eternal because every act of obedience echoes into forever. Now go and carry that Good News like a bright lantern shinin’ out in the dark. Someone out there needs the light you’ve been entrusted to be shinin’ out.
With joy,
Gwen
