In my early days of ministry, I spent huge amounts of time
absorbed in Scripture and great spiritual writers. The Lord made it possible
for me to spend whole days—without any issue of preparing for something or
taking an examination—soaking up the Scripture. I literally wore out the books
of great spiritual writers.
This focus was foundational to my spiritual
journey, to finding satisfaction in Christ.
Experiencing
God in that way leads me to satisfaction in Christ
and to speaking to others out of that satisfaction. There is no substitute for
simple satisfaction in the Word of God, in the presence of God. That affects
all your actions.
Characteristics of Dissatisfaction
Men and women in ministry who are not finding satisfaction
in Christ are likely to demonstrate that with overexertion and overpreparation
for speaking and with no peace about what they do after they do it. If we have
not come to the place of resting
in God, we will go back and think, Oh, if I’d done this, or Oh,
I didn’t do that. When you come to the place where you are drinking
deeply from God and trusting him to act with you, there is peace about what you
have communicated.
One of my great joys came when I got up from a chair to
walk to the podium and the Lord said to me, “Now remember, it’s what I do with
the Word between your lips and their hearts that matters.” That is a tremendous
lesson. If you do not trust God to do that, then he will let you do what you’re
going to do, and it’s not going to come to much. But once you turn it loose and
recognize we are always inadequate but our inadequacy is not the issue, you are
able to lay that burden down. Then the satisfaction you have in Christ spills
over into everything you do.
The preacher who does not minister in that satisfaction is
on dangerous ground. Those who experience
moral failure are those who have failed to live a deeply satisfied
life in Christ, almost without exception. I know my temptations come out of
situations where I am dissatisfied, not content. I am worried about something
or not feeling the sufficiency I know is there. If I have a strong temptation,
it will be out
of my dissatisfaction.
The moral
failures of ministers usually are over one of three things: sex,
money or power. That always comes out of dissatisfaction. Ministers are
reaching for something, and they begin to feel, I deserve something
better. I sacrifice so much and get so little. And so I’ll do this. The
surest guarantee against failure is to be so at peace and satisfied with God
that when wrongdoing presents itself, it isn’t even interesting. That is how we
stay out of temptation.
Characteristics of a Satisfied Soul
We are long on devices and programs. We have too many of
them, and they get in the way. What we really need are preachers who can stand
in simplicity and manifest and declare the richness of Christ in life. There
isn’t anything on Earth that begins to compete with that for human benefit and
human interest.
When people hear preachers who are satisfied in this way,
they sense that much more is coming from them than what they are saying. When I
hear preachers like this, I sense something flowing from them. Preachers like
that are at peace. They are not struggling to make something happen.
That is one of the biggest issues for ministers today
because of the model of success that comes to us. We get the idea we are
supposed to make something happen, and so we need our services to go just
right. The concluding benediction has hardly ceased before those in charge are
saying to one another, “How did it go?” or “It went really well.” The truth is,
we don’t know how it went. From God’s point of view, it will be eternity before
we know how it went. These folks are not at peace if they are trying to manage
outcomes in that way.
One mark of preachers who have attained deep satisfaction
is they are at peace, and they love what they are doing. Peace comes from them.
From such preachers, I sense something coming to me that is deeper than the
words. Hearers sense the message opening up possibilities for them to live. In
the presence of this kind of preacher, people find ways of doing the good that
is before their hearts.
That is the living water. Jesus brought people that opening
up of possibilities. In John 8, when he said to the woman caught in adultery,
“Go now and leave your life of sin,” I don’t think she felt, I’ve got
to do that. She experienced Jesus’ words as: That’s really
possible. I can do that. That is one characteristic of preaching that
comes from a satisfied life.
Another mark of satisfied preachers is they can listen.
They can be silent in the presence of others because they are not always trying
to make something happen. Such a person has the capacity to listen to people
and come to an awareness of the needs that underlie the felt needs. We should
be attentive to the felt needs of people, but we should know that the game is
at a much deeper level of the soul.
A large part of what the pastor does in preaching and life
is to listen and help people feel their real needs, not just superficial needs.
The satisfied preacher speaks from a listening heart. Since people often do not
know what they really need, such preaching can help them find out. This
requires a spaciousness that only comes if your cup is running over because you
are well cared for by God.
Steps Toward Finding Satisfaction in Christ
We can take steps to find this deep satisfaction and to
preach from the well within us.
I encourage pastors to have substantial times every week
when they do nothing but enjoy God. That may mean walking by a stream, looking
at a flower, listening to music, or watching your children or grandchildren
play without your constantly trying to control them. Experience the fullness of
God, think about the good things God has done for you, and realize he has done
well by you. If there is a problem doing that, then work through the problem,
because we cannot really serve him if we do not genuinely love him.
Henri Nouwen said the main obstacle to love for God is
service for God. Service must come out of his strength and life flowing through
us into receptive lives. Take an hour, sit in a comfortable place in silence,
and do
nothing but rest. If you go to sleep, that’s OK. We have to stop trying
too hard. There may be a few pastors for whom that is not the problem, but for
most, it is. We need to do that not only for ourselves but to set an example
for those to whom we speak.
There is a place for effort, but it never earns anything
and must never take the place of God with us. Our efforts are to make room for
him in our lives.
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