God never
promises that what He asks us to do will be easy, and it wasn’t for Dad.
Other than when
I was a small child, I only knew Dad as a preacher. Living in a preacher’s home
makes one privy to information that the typical church member might not know.
One thing entailed getting the inside scoop on how difficult some people can
be.
I recall one
church my father pastored. Mom, my two brothers, and Dad loved the area and the
people. It was country living at its finest. I loved it too and soon decided to
move to the area. No sooner had I settled in than Dad decided to move.
Dad and the
members got along well, but one thing bothered him. On the Sunday of his
resignation, he said, “I’ve been here two years, and no one has ever come
forward during an altar call.” In Dad’s mind, this made them a difficult
audience to preach to. Perhaps the needed decisions were all made in the pew,
but Dad wanted to see action.
I’ve felt Dad’s
concern. Having pastored several smaller membership churches, I, too, have
preached hundreds of sermons and witnessed little, if any, movement to the
altar. Maybe they, too, made their decisions in the pew.
Ezekiel,
however, didn’t have to label his audience as difficult to preach to. God made
the judgment for him. Stubborn. Hard-hearted. But God sent him anyway.
Whatever the
audience God sends us to, our responsibility is to be faithful to His call. God
doesn’t hold us responsible for their decisions—whether many, few, or none at
all. Or whether the decisions have been made publicly or privately. Our job is
to deliver the message God gives.
Sometimes, God
has to remind us that even though we don’t see the fruit, it doesn’t mean it
hasn’t been produced. Seeing matters of the heart is difficult. Our job is to
trust God to give us the strength to do whatever task he assigns. And he will.
As he does, he’ll walk by our sides, giving guidance the entire way.
When God calls
you to deliver a message to a difficult audience, remember he’ll be faithful to
you if you are faithful to him.
Father, enable
me to trust you to guide me and give me the strength, regardless of the
audience you call me to speak to.
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