Why Believers Drop Out—and How to Stay Faithful - Martin Wiles

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. 

Ephesians 2:10 NLT

I hated school, so I decided to quit. Join the ranks of the dropouts.

I enjoyed elementary and middle school, but when I got to high school, I developed a sudden distaste for education. By the time I reached my senior year, I’d had all I could take. I had no interest in learning, didn’t see how any of it would benefit me, and wanted out. I pranced up to my parents and said, “I’m quitting school.” Dad didn’t take the news well and politely told me that if I quit, I would be going to work. I was okay with that. I had no plans to sit around and do nothing.

After three or four months, my status as a high school dropout wasn’t fun anymore. The job I found ended, and I was on the unemployment line. Even in the lenient seventies, most employers wanted employees with at least a high school education. I decided I’d return to school. I couldn’t graduate with my class, but I did graduate that summer.

Thankfully, the statistics for high school dropouts have dropped (no pun intended). Only about 5% leave without graduating. But school isn’t the only place from which people drop out. Church follows on its heels. Among 18- to 22-year-olds in America, 66–70% drop out after high school. The reasons vary: life changes, move to college, work, judgmental Christians, and changes in their religious views.

Dropping out of church, however, isn’t relegated to this group alone. Others do as well. And sometimes the dropouts don’t actually leave the church. Some burnout and stay. They take on too much—perhaps because others aren’t doing their part. Others drop out because they’ve been hurt, but stick around and spread their negativity. And some just atrophy, like unused muscles.

God doesn’t intend or want us to drop out of his work. He saves us by his grace and mercy, creates us as his masterpiece, and wants us to do good works that will disseminate his love across the world. These works don’t initially save us or keep us saved thereafter, but they are proof of our connection to him in faith.

When asked, God will give us wisdom to balance our lives, so our chances of dropping out of his service diminish significantly. Don’t drop out on God. With balance, serve him faithfully to the end of your life.

Father, thank you for the privilege of serving you and others. Give me the strength to keep on keeping on in your work. 

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Stirring Up the Gift Gave You - Martin Wiles

Therefore, I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 2 Timothy 1:6 NKJV

I sat in the ladder-back chair, wondering what I should do and feeling a bit useless. I needed to stir up a gift. 

The day before our move arrived, but my wife and I were already at our new residence, unpacking boxes. At least, she was. With no internet or satellite, what could I do? If I unpacked, I’d have to wait for her to tell me where to put it. So, I sat.

“Is there something I can help you do?” I asked.

“No, just sit there,” she replied. So, I did.

A few minutes later, she yelled from the next room, “See if you can find me a magic marker.”

Finally, something I could do. I walked into each room, perusing the boxes. No magic marker. How she expected me to find such a small item among the mounds of boxes and bags sitting in every nook and cranny, I didn’t know, but I wasn’t going to waste this opportunity.

“I don’t see one,” I finally surrendered after searching in vain.

“Well, it won’t jump up and grab you,” came her curt reply. “Look in the boxes.” I searched again. No luck. I failed at my one chance to do something.

Tomorrow would be different. I’d have something to do. Move in the large pieces of furniture and hang pictures.

Paul was Timothy’s spiritual father and had commissioned him into the ministry. Now he reminds him to stir up that gift of pastoring a church.

Sitting around in a ladder-back chair twiddling my thumbs isn’t the way to discover God’s gift to me. God has things for all His children to do, and He gifts and talents us accordingly. There have been times when I’ve wondered what my gift was—or if I had one—but each time God showed up and showed me what it was.

Through prayer and effort, we can discover God’s gift. When I wondered if he had gifted me to teach, all I had to do was try. Had teaching not been my gift, I would have quickly discovered it—or someone would have kindly let me know. Some gifts all believers have—such as serving—but God gives all believers gifts. Gifts are his presents, so we can accomplish his kingdom work in this world.

Don’t sit around wondering what your gift is. Ask God to show you, and then find yourself stirring up the gift God gave you.

Father, thank you for giving me gifts so I can do your work in the world. 

I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing in eBook or paperback. If you seek hope and healing because of the hurts you have faced, this book is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

In the Pit - Martin Wiles

Then they grabbed him and threw him into the cistern. Now the cistern was empty; there was no water in it. Genesis 37:24 NLT

Only some qualify for the pit.

I once was a NASCAR fan. Although I only attended a few races, I watched many on television. The drivers intrigued me—the training they had to endure, the car’s heat, the inconveniences of hours of racing, the dangers—but the pit crew interested me more. I loved watching the cars roll into the pit area and seeing the crew members swarm the vehicle. One slid across the hood of the car and changed the tires on the opposite side of the car. Another took the opposite side. One popped the hood and made a quick check. Another reached over the tire changer with a long-handle brush and cleaned the windshield. Still, another manhandled a large gas can and shoved the funnel into the car’s fuel tank. Top-level pit crews could get everything done in as little as eleven seconds, helping the driver maintain his spot in the race.

I assumed pit crew members were master mechanics. Wrong. At least in most instances. Decades ago, pit crew coaches tried to turn trained mechanics into pit crew members. That seemed to be the logical thing to do since mechanics knew mechanics. But their efforts didn’t work. Mechanics may have known the nuts and bolts of the job, but most didn’t have the skill, strength, and agility needed to work on a pit crew. They were not performers, and the pit crew required people who could show out. Athletes fit that bill, so coaches began hiring and teaching athletes to be mechanics.

Pitting a car in record time—a time that takes a pit crew to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series—takes years of work. In one survey, where thirty-three pit crew members responded, nearly three-fourths had participated in sports. 

Not everyone would enjoy pit life. Joseph didn’t. However, he was partly responsible for putting himself in the pit. But God was also involved in this process. Joseph’s two dreams let him know he would rule over his family one day. His mistake came in blabbing that to his brothers, who already hated him because their father showed Joseph partiality. And because Joseph had a habit of reporting their bad behavior to their father. A tattle tale.

Joseph’s pits later transformed into other types: slavery, false accusations, and prison. These he had no control over. Only God did. It wasn’t until Joseph had been elevated to ruler over all of Egypt and saved his family from dying of starvation that he could look back and see how God had worked through all of his pits.

I’ve endured quite a few pits in my lifetime as well. Some I groveled in because I made bad decisions. Others, I mired in because of someone else’s decisions and actions. Either way, I found myself in pits I didn’t enjoy. Being there, however, did give me time to reflect.

When in a pit, asking “Why am I here?” is a good starting point. If sin has put us there, the proper response is confession and repentance. God may then move us out of the pit or let us stay there a little longer so that we learn our lesson and don’t repeat the same wrong moves in the future. If others’ decisions have put us there, we may have no control over the situation. We have to wait it out.

Although we might not consider it, God can put us in pits even if we haven’t sinned—as long as the situation doesn’t violate His holy nature. He puts us there to teach us essential lessons or prepare us to accomplish His future plan. Moses’ pit was the backside of desert tending flocks. Paul’s appeared in the form of jail, beatings, shipwreck, misunderstanding, and a whole list of other things. David’s involved betrayal by one of his sons.  

We need patience and attentiveness regardless of why we’re in the pit. Trust also weighs in. We can trust God to do what’s right even when the pit appears wrong. God wants us to trust His wisdom, guidance, and timing. And when the time is right, God will lift us from the pit and restore us.

Ask God what He wants to teach you when you find yourself in a pit.

Father, I trust You to deliver me from my pits and teach me vital lessons while I’m there. 

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Life on Loan - Martin Wiles

But God said to him, “You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get it all?” Luke 12:20 NLT

A day’s plans can change in a moment.

Since we were a one-car family, my wife normally drove me to work. On one particular day, she let me drive. As I attempted to put the car in reverse, I heard a snap and then noticed the gear shift didn’t look quite right. It hung limply against the steering column. Within a couple of hours, a tow truck had taken it to the local Ford dealership, and I had called my mom to see if we could borrow her car.

I never questioned who owned the car I would temporarily drive. I didn’t treat it like mine because I knew I had to return it. I was more careful than usual with my driving and kept the inside and outside as clean as possible. Mom never said, “You can’t have this car,” but she didn’t have to. I knew it was on loan.

The rich fool forgot his life was on loan. He had a fertile farm that produced an abundant crop. He had money to build larger storage buildings to accommodate the overflow. He planned to sit back and enjoy life’s pleasures—until God interrupted his plans and reminded him his life wasn’t his own. 

While I don’t have the means to do anything I desire, adopting the same mindset as the rich fool comes easily. Life was about him and no one else. But life isn’t all about me. God loaned it to me. He created me in my mother’s womb and had a plan in place before my birth. One day, God will call for full repayment of the loan. I’ll stand before my Creator to give an account of how well I’ve cared for what He entrusted to me. Did I keep the inside and outside clean? Did I treat it selfishly or use it to do His work? Did I live like I thought I’d never have to return it to Him?

Our gifts, talents, and opportunities are not inherent or developed by chance. God has ingrained and loaned them.

Make sure you are using well what God has entrusted to you. One day, He’ll call for full repayment.

Father, may I always remember my life is on loan from You. 

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I invite you to try my newest book, Surviving the Church: How to Emerge Alive and Well, in eBook or paperback. If you have been hurt by the church or are struggling with too much church, this book is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy today. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

Gifted to Go - Martin Wiles

Look, I have specifically chosen Bezalel son of Uri, grandson of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. I have filled him with the Spirit of God, giving him great wisdom, ability, and expertise in all kinds of crafts. Exodus 31:2-3 NLT

He wanted to sign his name…but couldn’t.

As the end of the school year approached, I taught students how to write a few types of letters they would need at some time in their lives: business, cover, query, friendly. I explained the format and showed them examples on the overhead and in their books.

All went well—until we got to the end. I instructed them to print their name at the end, but to leave a couple of spaces between it and their closing for their signature.

One of my more astute students raised his hand and said, “I don’t know how to write in cursive.”

No one laughed because some of them didn’t know how to either. While we teach cursive writing at our school, not all schools do, and some students who have been homeschooled don’t learn it either. 

Knowing that even in our techy world students still needed to know how to sign their names, I walked over to the whiteboard and wrote the student’s name in cursive. I gave him one thing he needed to succeed in life.

God did the same for Bezalel. He was one of the individuals God gifted to help build the elements the Tabernacle would house. This tent preceded the Temple, later built by Solomon, but contained the same items. Since this building represented God’s presence with the people, it needed to be built with care and reverence. So, God gifted those He charged with building and furnishing it.

God does the same for His followers today. In several places, the Bible lists spiritual gifts that God gives His children. We all have at least one—and many have more than one. It’s even possible that the lists are not exhaustive.

Regardless of our gift(s), God’s design is for us to use them. If we don’t, He’ll likely take them away and bless someone else with them. When we use them, we help fulfill the overall purpose for existence—to build His Kingdom—and we accomplish temporary goals God assigns during our life’s journey.

Once we discover our gifts, we should ask God for opportunities to use them. A part of the asking is putting ourselves in a place that would be a likely area for God to use us. Asking God to give me a teaching opportunity, but not attending church, wouldn’t make much sense.

Life is better when we use our gifts in service to God and others. Go with what God has gifted you with.

Prayer: Father, thank You for the gifts. Give us opportunities to use them.

Tweetable: Are you using your gifts? 

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Use or Lose - Martin Wiles

God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. 1 Peter 4:10 NLT

He only had little, but he used it well.

By today’s standards, my grandfather would have been classified a small farmer. He only owned one hundred acres of land, some of which woods covered. Nor did he possess many of the things most farmers consider necessities.

Initially, he and my grandmother rented half of a house. The owners lived in the other half and used the home as a vacation getaway. When his finances permitted, my grandfather bought the house and land.

Only two barns decorated the property: one for storing crops until taken to market and the other for farm implements. My grandfather used one compartment for his tools, one for his small red tractor, and the other for occasionally parking the car under.

We never knew until after my grandfather’s death how much he had accumulated in cash. He could have easily bought more farm equipment that would have made his and others’ lives easier. But he chose to hire field hands to harvest some crops, and he enlisted the help of a wealthy neighbor who had fancier implements to harvest those crops that couldn’t be brought in by hand.

By choice, my grandparents lived a frugal lifestyle, but they used well what they had and made a good living. Both had the talent to farm and put it to good use. While not a spiritual gift, farming was my grandfather’s natural talent.

Peter says God gives at least one spiritual gift to each believer—and often more than one. In various places, the Bible lists the gifts. Although believers differ on whether or not those listed are an entire list—and whether or not some are still active—the gifts are present in believers’ lives, nevertheless.

Our job is to discover them—whether through experience or by spiritual gift inventories—and then use them well to serve God and others. Had my grandfather not honed his talent, he would have lost money on the farm, and perhaps the farm itself. He anticipated more, as we should. When we use well what God gives, He often gives more.

Although the farm benefited my grandparents mainly, it also benefited those whom my grandfather hired to work it. Our gifts should do the same. Jesus says we serve Him by serving others, and He gives us our gifts to do just that.

Discover your gifts and use them well.

Prayer: Father, help us use well the gifts You have given us.

Tweetable: Are you using what God has given you? 

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Find Your Place - Martin Wiles

I will not let my eyes sleep nor close my eyelids in slumber  until I find a place to build a house for the Lord. Psalm 132:4-5a

As we sat around the table, we watched, wondered, marveled, and reminisced.

Prior to the beginning of school each year, teachers, along with board members, invite the graduating seniors to join us for lunch. Most of us have taught them at some point—or will teach them their senior year. Some of us have fond memories—and some of us have war stories.

On this particular year, I had taught most of these seniors in middle school. Back then, they were coming into their own, developing mentally, socially, emotionally, and physically. Some breezed through middle school while others struggled—in more ways than educationally.

Now, they hung on the verge of graduation. A part of the lunch ceremony is to have them approach a microphone and share their plans. Some of the plans surprised me while others did not. I had seen the talents even in middle school.

Some, however, confused me. Middle school hadn’t seemed to challenge them as it does many students. They were organized and focused. But now I listened to them say, “I don’t know what I want to do.” And others, “I don’t know where I want to go to college.” 

As time passes and my former students make their way into the world, I’m always amazed at how they end up. Most surpass my wildest dreams for them. And the things they struggled with during the growing years, they conquer. They find their place.

David, the psalmist, discovered his place. God wanted him as king of Israel. And David wanted to build a permanent dwelling place for the Ark of the Covenant—the symbol of God’s presence with His people. Although David’s son was God’s chosen person to build the Temple, David assembled the materials he would need to build it.

God makes no mistake in placing individual people on this planet. He has a plan for each of us, and our lives will never be complete—and we’ll never be satisfied—until we discover what God wants us to do, and then do it. If we search, God will reveal His plan. He’ll also provide the means for us to get what we need to accomplish that plan. 

And always in the mix of the plan lies our responsibility to share His love and expand His kingdom. So, go ahead, find your place—and find peace.

Tweetable: Have you found your place? 

Prayer: Father, show us Your plan that we might live out the life You have planned for us.

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Discover Your Child - Solace from the Psalms - Martin Wiles

For thousands of years, people have found comfort in the Psalms. No matter what emotion you are experiencing or fight you're facing, the psalms have something important to say. For the next little while, Love Lines from God will feature, "Solace from the Psalms." We hope you enjoy. And please share them with a friend. 

Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. Psalm 139:14 NLT

I’ve never thought mine was that amazing, but facts prove otherwise.

Consider the following startling facts about the human body: our stomachs contain acids strong enough to dissolve zinc, our lungs contain 300,000 million tiny blood vessels, our bones are as strong as granite when it comes to supporting weight, each of our kidneys houses one million individual filters that filter 2.2 pints of blood a minute, and our eye’s focusing muscles move about 100,000 times per day.

What’s more amazing is that a divine Creator put all this together. As a parent, this makes me look differently at my children and grandchildren—and others. They’re not just a bag of bones and sometimes aggravation but unique creations with distinctive gifts and personalities.

Training my children in the way they should go required spending enough time with them to recognize God’s gifts in them. When I determined this, I then encouraged them to pursue hobbies and professions that allowed them to use those talents. I also had to recognize that doing that might mean they wouldn’t follow in my or their mother’s footsteps.

Children also have distinctive personalities. One of mine has Type B and the other is extremely Type A. What concerns one doesn’t bother the other, but that’s okay. Variety is God’s plan when it comes to personalities, and I’ve discovered that personality usually fits the talents.

But my parental duty goes beyond simply encouraging my children to pursue their dreams. Parenting also involves guiding them to align their gifts and dreams with God’s plan. Only then have I trained up a child in the way he should go (Prov. 3:5-6).

What more can you do to guide your child along God’s path?

Join the conversation. What's one way you've helped your child discover God's plan?

Tweetable: Have you discovered your child?

Prayer: Give us wisdom, merciful Father, to guide the little ones You’ve entrusted to our care.

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What Fish Money Can Do - Martin Wiles

Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!”And they left their nets at once and followed him. Matthew 4:19-20 NLT

She played, people clapped, and I told them that’s what fish money did.

Mom’s family attended a small United Methodist church on a country road. The lady who played the piano was older and beginning to miss a few notes. My grandmother wanted Mom to play, even though she was only in elementary school. But she didn’t know how she’d fund the lessons. My grandfather wasn’t about to shell out the money.

But my grandmother had a plan. She loved to fish and sold most of her catches to neighbors who were more than willing to buy them. She could use this money to pay for Mom’s piano lessons. And she did. However, her instructions to the piano teacher were clear: teach her hymns first—and then the other songs. She wanted Mom to play in church as soon as possible.

My grandmother’s plan worked. Mom took lessons, my grandmother paid for them with fish money, and Mom began playing in the Gerizim United Methodist Church when she was elementary age. Almost seventy years later, she’s still playing in church when she has the opportunity. She played for Dad at almost every church he pastored, and now, ironically, she plays for me in the church I pastor.

Fishing attracted Jesus too. The first disciples He called made a living at it. But He told them to leave their nets and their livelihood and follow Him. He would make them fishers of people. After several years of training—and His death—He would set them free to change the world.

God doesn’t require that we have much because He owns it all. My grandmother had very little—and I’m sure she never imagined Mom would use her talent as she had. Mom’s dream involved becoming a concert pianist, but God called her to use her talent in the small churches Dad pastored in South Carolina and Tennessee. The earthly pay stunk, but I imagine the heavenly reward will be worth it.

God is more than willing to send opportunities our way. All that He requires is that we ask for them. And to ask for the faith eyes to see them when He sends them. Busyness and misplaced priorities can blind us, but our willingness opens unimaginable doors.

Don’t underestimate what God can do with a small amount of resources—and your faith.

Tweetable: Are you giving God your little? 

Prayer: Father, show us what You can do in our lives when we trust You by faith. 

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