From The Desk of David

A sound cries out from the darkness. Buzz! I can feel my eyes roll as I turn towards to ever annoying alarm clock, begging me to get out of bed. I kick my leg up and slam the “off” button as if I were in a duel with the lifeless thing. I sit up and almost as if it were on cue, my leg aches.

I exhale frustratingly. I reach for my normal topical remedy and apply it to my knee then I continue about my morning routine. But alas, the remedy is all in vain. Nothing seems to work. Today, I shall have knee pain. Finally accepting the reality of my pain, I set off about my day, not allowing my aching knees to rob me of today’s joys for as the psalmist declares, “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Today may have knee pain, but today, I shall rejoice.

I step into the cool day and jump aboard a bus which is in route to a conference in which I will spend a few days sitting under experts in ministry and bask in their wisdom. A few moments later, I find myself standing in the grand lobby of a local church where the conference was to be held. I scan the room, looking for the place of my first session.

After a few moments, she approaches. She has such a warm smile as if she were inviting you to hear what she had to say. I smile back, “How kind. She is going to help me find where I need to go.” I think to myself, not knowing what was to come. She opens her mouth, as if she was about to shower me with kindness, but that was nothing more than a false pretense. “Dear, are you lost?” she inquires. “No ma’am! I think I can find my way.” I respond with smile. “Well you see honey,” she begins. “People with disabilities can’t be pastors. You shouldn’t be here.” She offered.

I pause. I am confused which is suddenly overtaken by a storm of anger. A response written by anger itself rises with me. But something stops me.

“Thank you for your input.” I neutrally respond. I walk away hastily.

“How could anyone say that!?”

I locate my session, still heated from my encounter. I try and absorb what the pastor is saying. He takes us to the book of Jeremiah, chapter 12.

“Righteous are you, O Lord, when I complain to you; yet I would plead my case before you. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all who are treacherous thrive?You plant them, and they take root; they grow and produce fruit; you are near in their mouth and far from their heart. But you, O Lord, know me; you see me, and test my heart toward you. Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and set them apart for the day of slaughter. How long will the land mourn and the grass of every field wither? For the evil of those who dwell in it the beasts and the birds are swept away, because they said, “He will not see our latter end.” The Lord answers Jeremiah“If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you, how will you compete with horses? And if in a safe land you are so trusting, what will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?”
-Jeremiah 12: 1-5

The pastor brings our focus to the final verse, in which he begins to explain how in the day of Jeremiah, armies would attack in two waves, one containing foot soldiers and then a second wave of horsemen to take the ones who managed to survive the foot soldiers. The pastor begins to offer that we should focus on the battle to come because Jesus doesn’t call us to be concerned with the foot soldiers but rather the horses that are coming.

“She is just a foot solider.” The Spirit interrupts.

“Where have I, Author of time itself called you to?” The Spirit continues.

I glance at the passage before me and the final five words capture my attention.

“The Thicket of the Jordan.” I respond.

“And do you think that I would not call you to a place if I wasn’t ready to see you through it? What this world sees as a limitation I am going to turn into a proclamation for all to witness who I am.” The Spirit proclaims.

“So quit worrying about the foot soldiers and go into the thicket.” The Spirit commands.

I rise from my seat, feeling renewed and ready to go to war…

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Society will tell us that our greatest flaws are the very things that disqualify us from carrying out grand dreams. However, The Lord doesn’t see our flaws as what disqualifies us, but rather what makes us useable by him. It is only through our flaws that His glory can be shown because it is our flaws that separate us from the normalities of society and allow the counter-cultural nature of God to shine through.

So remember, next time someone tells you that you aren’t fit to do something, We serve a God who doesn’t call the qualified but qualifies the called.

For His Glory,
David