“So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God. Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.” (1Corinthians 4:1-4 NIV)
There I was in a former pastorate trying to decide where I should lead the congregation. I began praying and was inspired to go in a different direction than I had ever travelled before that time. It began with a campaign to reach new people and increase our ministries.
During this campaign, I began sending a daily devotional to all the members of the congregation. After I left that pastorate, I incorporated the devotionals into the new congregation, and several members of the former one requested that I continue to send my devotionals to them.
It has grown into this ministry, Courage Today devotionals. I expected it to be a simple ministry that I would share within the congregation which I serve. I never thought it would include people from around the world. I never imagined my devotionals would be challenged by theologians from other denominations or mocked by porn stars in China. I never thought that other pastors would desire to use my writings in their ministries. Yet, God deserves all the glory for how He chooses to use these devotionals.
It’s now been eight years since I was inspired with the Courage Today idea. Occasionally, just for a fleeting moment, I wonder if the whole project has been a failure. I think about all the devotionals I have written and the time involved and wonder if people are really reading them. Are they really encouraging anyone?
Fortunately, I have received numerous positive and encouraging remarks from those to whom I send these daily devotionals. Sometimes I get overwhelmed by the responsibilities of shepherding God’s people and fail to write a devotional for a day or two. Yet, some precious reader will write and tell how a devotional blessed them at an exact time when it was needed most. Such a word makes the toil of writing all the more precious, because that is the purpose of Courage Today: to encourage others in their journey with Christ.
Then I smile at myself. Christ took hold of me for his purpose and plan to increase his Kingdom. Without promising any accolades, He simply called me to serve faithfully. I am not claiming to be any super-faithful Christian, but I have learned this: success isn’t about numbers or responses. And huge numbers or responses is not necessarily a sign of God’s anointing either.
Courage Today devotionals are about people, anyone — believer or skeptic — that I can influence for Christ. That is truly all the success that I ask for. I’ll let God be the judge.
Be courageous in your faithfulness,