Everything is Yours, Answering The Call (number 4)

[stevene]

.....Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed
.....everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the dominion, O LORD, and You exalt Yourself as
.....head over all. (1 Chronicles 29:13)

I remember a few years ago listening to a Crown Financial Ministries radio program and hearing a discussion on
....."What do you hold dear now that you would NOT give up to accomplish a mission given you from God."

Shortly thereafter, my financial counseling business failed, a venture I adored. And my beloved dog Mindy had to be put down. After 14 years of devoted companionship, her kidneys had shut down, and yet her only desire was to remain near me. She couldn't walk, but would crawl to be next to me. If I moved, or showed any indication of changing chairs, she would struggle to stand up. It was devastating to lose her.

Recently I began reconsidering this question. With the beginning of this blog the issue has changed even more. Earlier this week I remembered the glib response I had expressed when talking about bankruptcy:
.....I'm in a lot of trouble, but eveything I hold belongs to God. It's going to be fun to see how He works his purpose out.
An ancient hymn states: "God is working His purpose out as the waters cover the sea." The reference is to Habakkuk:
.....For the earth will be filled With the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, As the waters cover the sea (Hab 2:14).

So what? I have begun to consider the earlier question from a positive perspective. No longer
.....What would I be willing to give up for God's work?
but
.....What has God given me to accomplish the ministry He has set me aside to accomplish?

Two hours ago the Foot and Ankle Clinic group presented me with the news that my foot is not salvageable. They have dug into the tissues in every nook and cranny of my lower right leg to debrede dead and diseased tissue. The hope was that the remaining tissue would begin to respond, But that hope has not played out. And I am at high risk for "Necrotizing Fasciitis" (Flesh-Eating Bacteria, see http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/necrotizing-fasciitis-flesh-eating-bacteria-topic-overview). And so, we can continue the debreding procedure to save the leg while bacteria will step in to destroy the body.

So, I'm going to lose my lower leg. The surgeon was very straight forward. Let's cut the leg off, flap it over, and get a prosthesis. Then move on to the other medical issues which are part of the whole package (i.e. bariatric surgery to drastically reduce my body mass.

God has set me aside for a particular ministry. I'm prayerfully working out what that ministry will look like, and this blog is a reflection of the internal process I am pursuing to discern God's design for that ministry.

My foot is an asset. Now it's in the same category as Mindy, my financial counseling business, and other resources God gave me for a time, and has now taken away. He is the Captain of my Unit, and I am the Platoon Sergeant. I go into the battles where He sends me, with the assets He assigns me. The foot is to be permanently removed from that asset inventory. It's going to be interesting to see how God will work out His purpose in this situation, as the waters cover the sea.

I will pray for you, and would you please pray for me? Let's pray that we will be open to whatever God has in mind for us as He works out His purposes. Let's enlist in God's Army and we'll work with whatever resources He assigns to us for His ministry. Let us not hold these assets too lightly, or too dear. As God allows us to use them, let's use them. When they are gone, move on and do with what God has given us. In Jesus's Name!

Thanks for the time you took to read this!

Stevene

[Greg]

That was a phenomenal post! I look forward to closely following the growth of your ministry, and will pray for it's growth daily.
Look! Your first prayer partner! :)