There’s an excitement like no other that comes from partnering with God. From being an eyewitness testimony to people’s joy as they meet the God who is too amazing for words. I can’t wait for the world to experience His justice and compassion for the hurt, vulnerable, and oppressed. I long for the world to be healed by His kindness and humility and to dance with His artistic creativity and joy.
Until that day, there’s so much work to be done; there is much for us to participate in. While this may sound intimidating, we are not the ones moving hearts and transforming worlds. He was and is at the foundation of the world, and He will carry it into eternity.
By the end of my first month in a foreign country on a mission trip, I was worried I hadn’t done enough ministry. In response to my problematic savior complex, God lovingly reminded me that, when the time came, He would speak to students and show them how much He loves them.
He also brought Ezekiel 34 to my attention. According to Mosaic law, God designed governments to protect and care for the poor, immigrants, widows, and orphans (Deut.10:18, 24:19, Ex. 22:22-23). During Ezekiel’s time, Israel’s poor were being financially harassed by wealthy landowners and powerful leaders. God sent prophets to warn Israel that this behavior grieved His heart (Is. 58:6-7, 1:17, Zech. 7:9-10, Ez. 16:49) and that such injustice, if not corrected, would be punished with exile.
After years of oppression, Ezekiel called out the “shepherd leaders” who were failing to care for the nation’s vulnerable:
This is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock.
I, myself, will search for my sheep and look after them…I will tend them in a good pasture…there they will lie down in good grazing land…I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.
I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from the hands of those who enslaved them…They will live in safety, and no one will make them afraid. Then they will know that I, the Lord their God, am with them and that they, the Israelites, are my people…
‘You are my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, and I am your God,’ declares the Sovereign Lord (Ez. 34:11, 14, 16-31).
As I sat by the river on that warm afternoon on my mission trip, I saw God’s sovereignty as the Good Shepherd. Ministry isn’t about us at all—it’s a story about God and His sheep.
We are not the good shepherds of the world; we are not the saviors; we aren’t the gospel. C.S. Lewis’s words ring true: “I am just one beggar telling another where I found bread.”
People don’t need Karisa who will let them down—they need Jesus,1 who will never disappoint and will fulfill their greatest longings.
No matter how much we “screw up,” and in the case of Ezekiel, this involved the serious work of human souls, God is always able to redeem our sloppy paint splatters and brush strokes into incredible masterpieces. He makes the call regarding who comes to Him, and I join along for the ride and honor of witnessing Him bring people to Himself in ways that only He can.
Partnering with God
We have an always-open invitation to partner with God. Sometimes, I feel very afraid to talk about God, as I worry about how others will perceive me. But I can just be myself, speaking naturally from my heart about what God has done in my life.
God uses a diversity of experiences to appeal to different people, whether that’s healing from addictions, sicknesses, or church wounds. And God has woven together your story and personality to speak to specific people. When He calls you to share the gospel, He hasn’t chosen you by accident.
I believe that Jesus looks at you and your failures, shortcomings, victories, and dreams. He says, If you’re willing, I can still work miracles and bring healing and spiritual life and forgiveness and write beautiful love stories through you.
He’s not limited by our efforts—He is God, more awesome than we could ever imagine.2
Bridgetown Church Pastor, Tyler Staton, preaches on this concept referencing the Japanese artform, kintsugi. This artform involves taking broken pieces of pottery and fitting them back together, filling the cracks with melted gold which cements the pieces into one and allows them to be used again. The finished piece is more beautiful than before, not because the pieces themselves are more valuable but because they are held together by gold.
Staton preaches:
That’s the kind of artist God is. He’s the one who picks up the broken pieces, the mess we’ve made out of the lies we’ve believed, and makes something beautiful out of brokenness, pours gold into every crack, and makes us whole…The ugliest parts of ourselves, the parts we want to throw out, God sees as redeemable, and He does His best work in the mess—He’s that kind of artist.
…God only works with broken vessels…His redemption runs deep and broad enough to repurpose the moments of your story that you prefer to edit or erase altogether, the ones that sting to even think about, the utter failures, and turn those into the moments that most completely reveal His grace and profoundly build His kingdom.
And how are we restored? By going to Jesus again and again and again. It’s not on us to reshape our broken pieces. We are simply the creation; He is the creator.
God doesn’t need us in His redemptive healing of the world. In fact, it would be much easier without messy humans in the way. He willingly invites us in because He is delighted to partner with us.
Reality Los Angeles Pastor, Jeremy Treat, describes a father who invites his five-year-old son to help make coffee. The father lays his hand over his son’s hand, letting him think he’s grinding the coffee beans. Though it slows the process, the father doesn’t mind—it delights him to invite his son into the work he is doing.
Our Father invites us into His work on college campuses and in workplaces and coffee shops and street corners. God’s hand is over ours, and it’s an honor to team up with Him. As we do, we get a close-up perspective of His heart for His children, His never-ending grace, and His desire to supply bountifully in the process.
Mandy Smith speaks to this perspective:
My upbringing and culture have taught me that from the moment I open my eyes each morning, the world is what I make of it. What this day will be is mine to create, what my work and relationships will be is mine to control. Even if I never say with my mouth “It’s all up to me,” my life had been saying, “It’s all up to me,” in how I fretted over the things I feel responsible for, in how I was made uncomfortable by every detail of life I couldn’t understand or control. And the amount of energy I devoted to blaming myself when I failed finally made these unspoken beliefs apparent.
I began to wonder: “What might it be like every morning to open my eyes to a world already humming along and to wonder how to join in the humming?” Was it okay to let someone else run the world again?3
Being Windows to Jesus
Honestly, I can feel a lot of pressure in wanting to represent God well. When people look at me, I want them to see Christ. But God gave me the analogy of a window. When you look through a window, what do you see? You don’t see the window itself, the glass and panes, but the view through the window—whatever the window is meant to frame.
When people look at me—when they read my books, watch my videos, hear my lectures, or hold conversations with me—I want them to see Jesus. I want people to leave interactions with me thinking, wow, Jesus is so awesome and loving. I want them to hear Jesus through the words I have the honor of delivering as one messenger.
This is how I feel when I read the Bible. I don’t often think, wow, Paul’s such a prolific writer! Peter’s such a great speaker and has an amazing story! I think, wow, God is beautiful, and the incredible God they’re describing is my God too. He can do the same things in my life today.
God is often more glorified through our weaknesses and failures than strengths and perfection. While we shouldn’t intentionally break God’s heart (Romans 6:15), we don’t have to be terrified of making mistakes.
One of the most inspiring moments from Peter’s life isn’t his declaration of Jesus as Messiah, his jumping out of the water to swim to Jesus, his healing of a paralyzed beggar, his prison break, or even his famous Acts speech which saved thousands.
But above all, he’s often known for his biggest blunder—his betrayal of Jesus and subsequent restoration by grace. Many of us are more inspired by this story which reminds us that God chose Peter despite knowing he’d walk away at the moment He needed him most. And then Jesus chose him again just days after this.
I love Luke 22:32. Before Peter betrays Jesus, Jesus encourages him, “When you turn back, strengthen your brothers.”
Jesus already knows ahead of time what Peter will do. He essentially says, I know you’re going to turn away. And it’s ok. I’ve got you. When you’re ready to turn back to me, you’re going to encourage and strengthen the faith of my other disciples.
Maybe Jesus meant His immediate disciples, but perhaps He was also speaking of us who’d read Peter’s story and be encouraged today.
I remember walking out of one of my lectures one evening, feeling discouraged after a sloppy attempt to share with my students about God’s love. I turned to God and asked Him what He thought.
Almost immediately, I heard, well done, good and faithful servant.
As I wrestled with the notion of whether I was “successful” in my sharing or not, I felt God ask me the rhetorical question, who defines success?
Obviously, You, I thought back to God.
A few weeks later, I was still disappointed with myself for what felt like a failure to share the gospel fluidly. I felt God bring the image of a child helping her father make coffee. I imagined myself scooping the ground coffee beans into the sifter. I fill the cup with coffee grinds and seem to be doing a good job before spilling a little onto the table.
I start freaking out—I messed up the process!
Yet God lovingly smiles and gently encourages me. “It’s ok,” He reassures me, brushing up the spilled grinds, easily cleaning up my mess. “No big deal.”
Then He says, “Why don’t you try again?”
Of course, on my second attempt, I panic incessantly, fearful that I’ll spill the grinds again and mess up our work.
But that’s when God gently but firmly broke into my vision, and with kind authority, He said, Karisa, I am more pleased with you for being willing to share despite feeling insecure and afraid then I am of what you actually shared. Don’t you know that I could’ve shared whatever words I wanted to with them? Do you think I’m not able to do this without your perfection or exact words?
God values humility combined with imperfection over perfection with arrogance. Our words don’t limit Him—if He can speak through a donkey or a pagan prophet (Num. 22), then no one can stand in the way of Him advancing His beautiful words (Acts 10:47).
Share whatever He’s put on your heart, and leave the spilled coffee grinds for Him to refashion. He does a much better job and sees beyond what we ever could.
Photo Credit: Riho Kitagawa
- The Old Testament prophesied a future Messiah who would shepherd Israel’s hurting and abused. In Ezekiel 34, God declares that He is this healing, good shepherd. Simultaneously, He says He will send a good shepherd, a descendant of David. Ezekiel 34 makes us ask how God can both be the shepherd and send the Davidic shepherd? Jesus answers this question as David’s descendent and the Son of God. In John 10, He declared, “I am the Good Shepherd…I have come that [all people] may have life and have it to the fullest.” Jesus illustrates beautifully and personally to us how God is not the type of father who sits back when his children suffer—He dives headfirst into our pain, scooping us up in our tears and unafraid of being immersed in our messiness.
- In His kingdom, the King is drawn to the sick (Mark 2:17), the children are the most significant and role-models for adults (Matthew 18:4), the weak are strong (2 Corinthians 12:9), the outcasts lead the church (Matthew 16:18), and the back of the table is invited to the front (Luke 14:7-11)
- Smith, Unfettered: Imagining a Childlike Faith beyond the Baggage of Western Culture, 21, 26-7.