As You Plan Your Day

Scripture Verses that Caught my attention today:
Isaiah 47:15 You are wearied with your many consultations;
let those who study the heavens
stand up and save you,
those who gaze at the stars,
and at each new moon predict
what shall befall you.

Isaiah 48:17 Thus says the LORD,
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
I am the LORD your God,
who teaches you for your own good,
who leads you in the way you should go.
1 Peter 5:2 tend the flock of God that is in your charge, exercising the oversight, not under compulsion but willingly, as God would have you do it—not for sordid gain but eagerly.

Observation: Similar messages from three different areas of Scripture. There is a place for consultation, but at some point one needs to be listening to the direction of the Lord. And each of us has a “flock” of some kind to which we are to exercise oversight.

Application: These days I’ve been a bit of a sponge for information that has the potential to be very helpful for evangelism. I’ve signed up for weekly e-mails, a monthly newsletter and CD and will also be entering into a short-term coaching agreement. It’s very interesting stuff (as well it should be because it’s not particularly cheap!). It’s the kind of thing that was never really taught in seminary (and if seminaries could teach everything a pastor really needed to know, I suspect it would be a 10-year experience rather than 4). Still, as Isaiah put it in chapter 47 in verse 15, one can become “wearied with your many consultations.”

As I read on I ran into verse 17 of chapter 48 which served as a reminder that the Lord is the one who “leads you in the way you should go.” Good point.

And then in 1 Peter I was reminded to simply tend the flock that is in my charge.

The point of all of this is not to avoid consultation. In fact, it is wise to regularly seek consultation. That’s part of being humble—recognizing that others can help us see a fuller picture and the like. But at the end of the day—or maybe closer to the beginning—we are called to respond in our own way to the Lord’s leading. At that point all other consultations need to be put in their place and we move forward according to the faith and insight that we have been given. We exercise oversight for whatever “flock” is in our charge, be it a congregation, a company, a customer, a family, a relationship, a ward of patients, a class of students, maybe even a pet or some other aspect of creation. All of us are in charge of something or someone, not in some dictatorially fashion, but in the sense of tending and caring.

Oh…and one more thing. 1 Peter speaks of disciplining ourselves. So in some respects a key member of our respective ‘flocks’ are ourselves.

This morning I was working on my to-do list for the day. I had scribbled down some of the little things (basically tasks) that needed to be done, but had not yet determined what the major project should be for the day. Instead I decided I would do devotions first and seek some direction in that way before determining the focus of my best time today.

Today’s lessons confirm that, as helpful as all other consultations might in many ways be, listening to the promptings of the Spirit is still the best way to start. Everybody else’s agenda (including my own) will tend to have a self-serving component. God’s Spirit, however, offers a far more holistic view and is most worthy of our attention before we undertake anything important or even determine what really is important.

Prayer: Lord, thanks for these readings today. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

(Readings today include: Isaiah 46-49 and 1 Peter 5)