DAY FIVE: CONTENTMENT IN THE JOURNEY

Review:

• God created the church, both locally and globally, to function as a single
  unit with a single purpose.
• You are responsible for serving and lifting up other members of the body, putting them before yourself.
• The accountability found through relationships within the body is vitally
  important to a believer.
• Mature believers seek accountability.
• While it may be that God has allowed you to mature, you must be careful not
  to become arrogant, satisfied, or complacent, but, like Paul, continue to
  compare yourself to Christ, striving to reach the standard that He set.
• Every believer needs a Paul/Timothy relationship.

Luke 4:14-22

This event was early in Jesus’ time of public ministry. What had Jesus been
doing just a few years earlier? Carpentry. Jesus had been a carpenter.

We can read about Jesus birth, the events that immediately followed His birth
and about an incident in the temple when Jesus was a pre-teen. But we can
discover relatively little about the events of His life between his birth and
the time of Jesus’ formal public ministry. We know only that “Jesus grew in
wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men (Luke 2:52).” Most of us
ignore this period of Jesus’ life altogether, assuming that it is unimportant
simply because we know nothing about it. However, Jesus’ years as a carpenter
were just as important as any others that Jesus spent on earth.

Carpentry isn’t as awe-inspiring as the performance of miracles or the
raising of the dead, but it was just as much a God-given assignment as His
formal ministry, and Jesus remained obedient and faithful throughout, taking
advantage of the opportunity to mature and grow. Had Jesus not carried out His
assignment as a carpenter, but instead tried to rush God’s plan, allowing
Himself to become jealous of those who held important positions in the
synagogue, He would probably have disqualified Himself for the assignment that
makes our salvation possible. Each day Jesus was responsible to follow the
Father’s leadership and to fulfill the calling of that day. Some days were
private preparation and some days public proclamation, but each day was
important to God.

No matter what your current assignment, it is just as important that you
remain faithful, obedient, and enthusiastic in your spiritual growth now as it
will be during any future assignment that God gives you. You must remain
open to God’s guidance, even when you perceive His direction to be a detour from
where you think you are going. Remember, you are called to Jesus, not a
position, responsibility, or a title, and the rhythm of God is different in the
life of each believer. Be content and flexible enough to follow wherever He
leads, taking advantage of every opportunity to grow, learn, and build
relationships, trusting Him enough not to depend on what you know, but on who He
is. Being faithful to study and prepare now will be very important in the years
to come.

Take a few moments and write your thoughts, concerns, and questions in your
journal. Allow the following thought suggestions to guide you.

How easy is it for you to trust God? Give examples from your life.

Think of where you are right now. What is your current assignment? Where
might that lead in the future? Can you approach your current assignment with the
same enthusiasm as you would the assignment that seems more “public?”