This week our oven broke down. I was making some roasted vegetables and all of a sudden, we started getting a big error message with an incessant beeping sound the entire time. This was not the first time we got that message so we knew it would happen eventually, but why in the middle of a busy and hectic week where dinners need to be made?! A few moments later, the oven simply quit.
I found myself grumbling and complaining that I had to spend all day on the phone with appliance salesmen trying to figure out what height and width oven would fit our space. “Lord, I have things to do! I’m supposed to be working! Why does this have to happen?!”
My eight year old son overheard me complaining and just burying my head in my hands as I realized I couldn’t bake anything this week for dinner and he very confidently said, “Mom, just have a little faith!”
His words reminded me to come back to the point…God would provide. He always has. He always will. I can live without an oven for a few weeks! Come on Erika, have a little faith!
This week as we talked about having the right mindset for ministry, my son’s words kept ringing true in my heart. It takes faith to keep walking this road of serving and loving on people, especially when the people we are serving and loving on are, at times, hard to love.
We find ourselves in the middle of petty disagreements, misunderstandings, judging how the other person acts or speaks, all the while the Lord whispers to our heart: “Don’t miss the point.”
John the Baptist understood the point. We see from his response to his disciples, “He must increase, and I must decrease,” (John 3:30) that his heart was in the right place all along. He was content for the spotlight to be off of him and onto Jesus. No praise was needed, just all eyes on the Savior. He is what matters. His message is what matters.
I found great comfort in the idea of “stewarding” my ministry and not making it my identity. In the past, I have felt the need to identify myself as an “author” or “speaker” or “bible teacher” but ultimately, I don’t have to worry about any of these titles. I simply have to be a good steward.
I can do that, Lord…I thought. It really takes the pressure off, doesn’t it? We can be free to move and live and serve in different ways. We don’t have to be tied down to one thing forever. We serve a creative God who moves us where He has prepared us to go. As my son says, it’s time to “have a little faith.”
I found myself grumbling and complaining that I had to spend all day on the phone with appliance salesmen trying to figure out what height and width oven would fit our space. “Lord, I have things to do! I’m supposed to be working! Why does this have to happen?!”
My eight year old son overheard me complaining and just burying my head in my hands as I realized I couldn’t bake anything this week for dinner and he very confidently said, “Mom, just have a little faith!”
His words reminded me to come back to the point…God would provide. He always has. He always will. I can live without an oven for a few weeks! Come on Erika, have a little faith!
This week as we talked about having the right mindset for ministry, my son’s words kept ringing true in my heart. It takes faith to keep walking this road of serving and loving on people, especially when the people we are serving and loving on are, at times, hard to love.
We find ourselves in the middle of petty disagreements, misunderstandings, judging how the other person acts or speaks, all the while the Lord whispers to our heart: “Don’t miss the point.”
John the Baptist understood the point. We see from his response to his disciples, “He must increase, and I must decrease,” (John 3:30) that his heart was in the right place all along. He was content for the spotlight to be off of him and onto Jesus. No praise was needed, just all eyes on the Savior. He is what matters. His message is what matters.
I found great comfort in the idea of “stewarding” my ministry and not making it my identity. In the past, I have felt the need to identify myself as an “author” or “speaker” or “bible teacher” but ultimately, I don’t have to worry about any of these titles. I simply have to be a good steward.
I can do that, Lord…I thought. It really takes the pressure off, doesn’t it? We can be free to move and live and serve in different ways. We don’t have to be tied down to one thing forever. We serve a creative God who moves us where He has prepared us to go. As my son says, it’s time to “have a little faith.”
Erika Pizzo
Erika is an author of various books on the topics of faith, mental health, and victory in Christ. Erika lives with her husband, daughter, son, and their fluffy poodle in sunny Southern California. Her two favorite things are a visit to the beach and a chai latte in hand.