davidbowerkingwood

Learning to be a Christian Professional

In Part 1, we observed the ease with which the trained professional made their jobs look easy to do. Can the same principles that create excellence in other areas be applied to the Christian life? I believe the answer to that question is definitely yes; this is the secret of the supposedly “trouble-free” Christian life.

I’ve heard of some Christians being told that they didn’t know what trouble was as they obviously had no trouble in their lives because they didn’t complain or appear to be troubled by life or live their lives under a cloud of despair.

The truth of the matter is no one is free of troubles in this sin cursed world including Christians. If a Christian appears to be living a joyous, trouble-free life it may well be because they have learned to walk by faith, to cast their burdens on the Lord, to rest in the Lord and more fully utilize the resources the Lord has provided for all of His children.

Christian Professionalism Takes Work

These are learned skills; even the Apostle Paul had to learn them. In Philippians 4:11 Paul wrote: “Not that I speak in respect of want; for I have learned, in whatever state I am, in this to be content.” These words were not spoken by a man who only knew leisurely beds of ease, but by an Apostle who repeatedly suffered and eventually gave his life for the spread of the Gospel. We have the same resources available to us that were available to the Apostle Paul.

Our challenge is to apply ourselves with sweat and tears to the learning of those lessons the Holy Spirit would teach us so we might be better conformed to the image of our Saviour and our God, the Lord Jesus Christ. We are challenged to become Christian professionals.

Living the life of a Christian professional does not mean circumstances will not occasionally strike a blow that flattens us; the solution for the Christian professional is quickly calling on the resources of faith to get back on their feet and move on. “We walk by faith, not by sight” II Corinthians 5:7.

Getting Back up When You’re Knocked down by Life

You can count on the fact that life will deal you a knock down blow from time to time; our focus on the Lord Jesus Christ will help us get up again and stand in the face of challenge. Many of us can recall events in our lives that were crushing to us and our families; our family has been there on more than one occasion; the death of our son and the death of our grandson are two examples.

Even when life deals us a knock down blow there is one thing we can know with confidence and that is God will use this ultimately for our good. I am so grateful that God doesn’t require that I understand because many things that happen are beyond my understanding. God simply asks me to trust Him and lean on Him in times of testing.

The most important thing I have learned from the trials that have come into my life is that God’s grace is always abundantly sufficient for any trial. I have emerged from each trial with a more complete confidence in God’s faithfulness to me and a renewed joy as I again experienced God’s abundantly sufficient grace.

A Fundamental Truth

I have found one fact to be fundamentally true and that is the better you know the Lord, and the more you know about Him the easier it is to rest in Him. There is only one way that can be accomplished and that is from your reading the Bible, both the Old and New Testaments; it is here God tells us about Himself and reveals His thoughts and His priorities.

We must never forget the Bible is supernatural; its words are living and powerful. Life comes with a great deal of assembly required; we ignore the manufacturer’s assembly instructions at our own peril.

A Parting Thought

In his final letter Paul wrote to “To Timothy, my dearly beloved son” II Timothy 1:2a and sought to share with him the thoughts he felt were most important as the time of his departure was at hand. Among those thoughts was the verse below; a verse which we are all well advised to consistently apply to our own lives.

“Study to show thyself approved unto God a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” II Timothy 2:15