I was on my way to a series of meetings. The first was a working lunch to prepare some mission volunteers for an upcoming mission. The next item on my agenda was speaking with a pastor to discuss how we could get his congregation plugged into some of our mission sites. Between the two meetings was a brief drive, a radio sermon, and a memorable quote.
Pride Is Like
I spend a great deal of time in my car. And my radio is the delivery vehicle for news and sermons. Our Moody Radio affiliate, WMBW, has a great lineup of inspirational speakers. On this occasion I was listening to Dr. Michael Youssef. In his sermon, he said,
Pride is like a beard, it needs trimming every day.
There wasn’t time to hear the entire message, but the quote stuck in my mind. It points to an essential requirement for life, missions, and evangelism: humility.
EquipUs Mission Volunteers are always encouraged to gather a prayer team. 15 mission volunteers traveling to a foreign country, each having a prayer team of 5-7 people, gives us a minimum involvement of 75-100 people. And the number is even larger because church families will pray for their members who are on mission. I shared Dr. Youssef’s quote with the mission volunteers and asked them to share it with their prayer teams. Why? James 4:6 says:
God resists the proud but He gives grace to the humble.
God’s presence, grace, and provision is absolutely necessary for mission success. And that’s true whether your mission is:
- Around the world
- Across the street
- Behind your own front door
- With the person in the mirror!
Pride: The Scissors
Pride is our enemy and it is a subtle one. How do we deal with it? It may help to apply mission field experiences as an illustration. I’ve never been part of a mission when it wasn’t obvious God was at work. He wasn’t doing His work because we were there. When you realize that He is at work for His own reasons and glory then you realize you are just blessed to be a part of His work. He could have used anyone! But our enemy still tempts people to think they can do a great deal on their own and that they ‘bring a lot to the party.’ Not true! In John 15:5 Jesus said:
I am the Vine and you are the branches…apart from Me, you can do nothing.
That’s a divine Rx for humility! Pride is like a beard, and it does need trimming every day. Our scissors are the Word and prayer. It is our privilege to admit our weaknesses, inabilities, and/or limitations to our Father. Then it is our JOY to see His limitless power and ability at work in us.
So when you see a beard, let it remind you to use your scissors and trim pride at every opportunity!
Prayer: Mission Teams
There are two EquipUs mission teams headed out this Fall. Some of those volunteers need a partner or two. You can read about that HERE. But all the mission volunteers need your prayers. Will you pray for our teams? Would you ask the Father to keep us humble and dependent on Him?
And one more thing. Would you mind using the comments section below to let us know you will be praying? It will just take a second and I’ll share that with our teams.
Soli Deo Gloria!
P.S. – I thought a picture or two about pride might be helpful. Mistake!!! Don’t do that search. But do pray!
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