October 15th, 2013
Ephesians 4:1-3 — I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
I’ve been seeing and hearing a lot about discouragement recently. And, as some of you might know, I’ve experienced a bit myself around my working environment.
I’m glad to say that much of what I have seen from those that I think of as good “spiritual touch points” has really been helpful. Just today I read a really good piece from David Wilkerson. (If you aren’t familiar with this man and the devotions he wrote before his tragically early death take a look at www.worldchallenge.org) .
As I’ve been thinking about this area, I’ve realized that I was getting close to slipping into one of satan’s traps — confusing occupation (how I earn a living) with vocation (how I’m called to serve the kingdom). This is an especially seductive trap for men, because we get a lot of our validation from career success. It’s nice to get encouragement and affirmation when it comes to occupation, but when it comes to vocation, validation is built in.
See what Paul writes to the a Ephesians: “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints”. If we are called, and if we work at our calling, we grow in understanding. The fruit of that growing understanding is a knowledge of two things. The first knowledge we gain is the knowledge of “the hope of his calling” — a knowledge of all that Christians can look forward to in a future life. The second knowledge, “the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.” That phrase “riches of the glory” might well have been translated “glorious richness”. Paul wants us to understand that we are heirs to an infinite reward — the end of our calling is far beyond anything we can ever conceive of!
Discouragement is a weapon of satan. David Jeremiah, in his book “Power of Encouragement” remind us that God -Son and Holy Spirit — is an encourager. Here’s how He explained it:
What does all this mean for me? It reminds me to focus on vocation not occupation. It tells me that I should try (harder) to be an encourager, not a critic. It lets me know that I feel discouraged, satan is probably around. Above all, I need to “walk worthy of the vocation wherewith I am called”.