My son, turn your ear to wisdom and apply your heart to understanding!
The online dictionary defines effective as success in producing a desired or intended result. We have seen that our intended outcome is to bear fruit for God daily from a place of rest in Him. When we achieve effective worship at and with our work, we will have healthy vision bearers, businesses, ministries, employers, employees, and families.
Jesus – The Most Effective Being on Earth
Jesus’ ministry started at the age of thirty years, which could have been earlier. In our current world, so many kids have achieved so much at the age of twenty. Sometimes, this makes thirty seem too late for one to achieve their goal. However, walk at the pace God has assigned for you. Moses did not start His ministry until he was forty, while David was anointed in his youth and Samuel when he was just a child. It does not matter what age you are; live life according to your book.
Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were written all the days that were appointed for me, when as yet there was not one of them [even taking shape]. Psalms 139:16
Jesus Invested in Training Twelve Men
Jesus took in twelve ordinary men and turned them into a global influence that has lasted over 2,000 years. He did this with just three and a half years of training. I believe He achieved this because He stuck to God’s instructions and the help of the Holy Spirit. He was focused on His specific goal; to bring salvation to man through His death on the cross. As it is today, there were many more sick people Jesus could have healed; and so many dead people Jesus could have raised. He could have run for political office, become a king of the Jews, and influenced many other kingdoms. Jesus could have achieved salvation for humankind in so many other ways, yet, He went by the one God commanded.
In the same way, there are a thousand ways we can live and run our businesses and ministries, yet we must choose the only way God has appointed for us. It is the only way we will become effective. We must stay put despite the progress that everyone else around us is making. God’s assignments and commands differ from one person to the other. Listen to your instructions and do according to your predestined path.
God’s Way Might Include Keeping Judas for Over Three Years!
Jesus did not fight God’s will or let Himself be bothered by minor issues. I assume that being God, Jesus knew the heart and mind of Judas from the beginning. He knew Judas would betray Him and that he was stealing from the treasury. But He kept Judas on for the entire three and a half years because it was through Judas that the Scriptures would be fulfilled. Some of the persistent challenges in your life, what we commonly call thorns in the flesh, should not bother you unless you are in sin. Ask God to give you the grace to endure as a good soldier and provide a way of escape as and when He wills.
Be Merciful and Keen to Empower People – Even Peter Who Might Deny You Severally
Jesus was effective because He was keen to develop people. If your God-given assignment is not big enough for you alone to handle, it might not be from God. Even Jesus, the son of God, needed human resources to progress the Kingdom agenda. Be merciful and keen to empower people; quick to forgive; compassionate, and full of love. And above all, forgive people and help them overcome the personal struggles that hinder their progress. Jesus knew that Peter would deny Him, not once or twice but three times. However, He empowered Him with what to do when that time of failure came. And Peter could repent, and Jesus continued to work in and through him.
Be Empowered by the Holy Spirit
Jesus was practical because The Holy Ghost empowered him. Before He started His ministry, Jesus received the baptism of the Holy Spirit when John the Baptist baptized Him at River Jordan. The Holy Spirit descended on Jesus and anointed Him with power. Every believer needs the baptism of the Holy Spirit to be effective in their calling area. This baptism is so important that Jesus told His disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the baptism of the Holy Spirit (Luke 24:49) so that they could walk in power.
The fruits of Jesus’ work still abound two thousand years later. It’s commendable that we bear fruit because that is what the Father desires (John 15:8). The next level of effectiveness is when the fruits outlive us and touch many generations after us, contrary to shooting stars that light up in the excitement but burn out before reaching their destinations. The benefit should be to the fourth generation. If Jesus tarries from returning, what will the people living two hundred years from your time benefit from your contribution to humanity?
Jesus was effective because he focused on achieving His assignment’s specific goal – die on the cross to redeem humankind from sinful nature. That is why He remained focused when the devil offered Him the whole world if Jesus worshipped him. Another incidence was when the Jews wanted to make Him a king; He had to run away from them.
Jesus Walked (Not Run)
Not a result of works, so that no one may boast!
We have seen that what causes us to miss out on God’s Sabbath rest is not submitting to the yoke of Jesus Christ, which results in us trying to figure out life on our terms and do God-given assignments in our terms and provision.
A God-size assignment cannot be financed with worldly economics.
When God instructed us to move from a commercial location to the new premises in a private location, two things happened to us. One, as stated earlier, was that we also experienced a lot of peace for our souls and ministry. The second thing was that Jesus started to teach us how to slow down to be effective.
One of the things that worked for my husband and me was that we did not have to commute as the office was next to our home. But this also posed a higher risk of becoming workaholics because we had an opportunity to stay in the office till late. God started to demand higher levels of discipline in taking up Jesus’ yoke and not ours. We would report to work at the right time (probably just a little earlier than everyone else because we did not need to commute) and leave at the right time (probably just a little later because we did not have the commute time from work).
God required us to ensure we spent the evenings with our children, focusing on their growth and development. We did this faithfully. We started a technology break in our house from 6.00pm to when the kids went to bed at around 9.30pm – about three and a half hours. Sometimes, as a family, we would stare at each other and wonder what to say or do. We told stories, the kids composed songs, we did artwork and craft, read books, read the Bible, played games, and everything in between. We also had dinner together every night to strengthen our bond as a family. Immediately after dinner, we did devotions as a family to teach ourselves and our kids about God. It was difficult initially, but once we got into the routine and discipline, our minds and bodies submitted quickly.
With the help of the Holy Spirit, we started to slow down significantly. It does not mean we got lazy; we were careful to do the much God led us to do. There was a point in time before this season, I would get to my bed and my eyes would open wide (like in Tom and Jerry’s cartoon) just because I remembered a deadline I had not met or an email I had promised to send someone and I had not. That would disrupt my sleeping schedule. Every day, I would over-promise and under-deliver.
This experience was a lesson from Jesus that even the Bible discourages over-promising, especially when you are not sure what you are promising is within your capabilities. It was a lesson for me to walk and not run. In so doing, I have improved my effectiveness in the workplace thus increasing self-fulfillment and peace.
Are you walking or running?
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Excerpt from the book Too Busy for Worship by Muthoni Omukhango available at www.muthoniomukhango.kenyaclc.org
