Who is "the boss of you"?

I was out of town for a few weeks this summer.  Spent the better part of a week in Joplin, Missouri.  Then almost immediately, a week at middle school camp... A week of middle school kids with out resting up from a mission trip to Joplin is probably not my smartest move!  Anyway, sorry I have been away from this for so long.  I have been trying to get caught up on all the things I let go of during that two weeks.  That is almost as difficult as the two weeks.  As I settle back into the chores of ministry and life in general I find myself in a little bit of rebellion.  People want things, family wants things... and yes, God wants things.  Meanwhile, I begin to wonder, "hey, what about me?  What about the things I want?"

This morning I was reading in the Psalms and I came upon a passage that caught me a little bit by surprise.  Psalm 119:57-58  "Your are my portion, O Lord;  I have promised to obey your words.  I have sought your face with all my heart; be gracious to me according to your promise."
Sometimes it is easy for me to get caught up in my agenda... my list of things to do or accomplish.  This is especially true when I am tired.  It seems that at those moments I forget what my purpose is.  I lose sight of just what it I was grabbed a hold by God to do.  I forget as well who it is who has grabbed a hold of me. When I said yes to Jesus, He became my portion.  He is my boss... my life.   His demands on my time and energy supersede all other demands.  When I am rested, well fed and "perky" it is somewhat easier to focus and be present on God's behalf to people who are hurting or just want some time.  When I am running on empty I can get cranky and become self centered... "What about me?"

When Jesus was in the Garden, facing his own end, he was lonely, out of gas and must have felt a little bit (actually, a whole lot) of "but, what about me?".  He phrased it, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will", Matt 26:39.  Jesus, when faced with much more than I could ever endure responded to his discouragement, tiredness and all the rest by submitting to the will of His Father.  "... not as I will, but as you will".  Jesus gives up his "rights", his tiredness, his energy to the will of God.  God the Father, gives to Jesus everything he needs to face the Father's will, to accomplish what is needed.  God the Father is Jesus' portion and we are Jesus prize.

If God is my portion, can I do any less?  Can God expect any less from me?  The trials I face, the taxes on my energy and time, they are not nearly what Jesus faced for me.  Can I give up my "rights" and give of myself to meet the needs of others"  Ya... I can.  It isn't always easy.  It isn't always fun... but with God as my portion, it is always worth it.

God is always gracious to me... according to his promises.  I can rest in that.  I find my energies replenished in that.  God gives to me what is needed to accomplish what He lays before me.
Grace and Joy in Jesus,
Pastor Bill