Poured out like a drink offering

“If I'm being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all.”  Philippians 2:17

Maybe 25 years ago or so, I did not know about any of the hardest battles we have encountered.   I had grown up in church and had a childlike relationship with Jesus when I was young.  Some people have stories about a radical change in their heart when they encountered Jesus.  I guess I did not really have that since I had grown up with that relationship at least in place.  But there came a time when Jesus surrounded me with a group of men who decided to take their role seriously.

I started attending a men’s bible study.  I have had good friendships before.  This was different.  I learned that if I wanted to be around them, I was not going to be given the option of “spectator”.  This was full contact friendship.  We did not talk about football or current events.  We talked about our faith walk.  “Where have you been?”  “Where are you going?”  “What is God doing in your life?”  “When is the last time you did something nice for your wife?”  Fun stuff.  Interestingly, a few men from that first group still meets every week.

At some point one of them handed me a book called “My utmost for His highest” by Oswald Chambers.  It was a daily devotional, and I was excited to participate.  I was nervous, but still excited.  I get up at 5:00 am.  This gives me time to read the Word, pray and just center the day.  One the first day with my new devotional I opened it to see this:

“Are you willing to sacrifice yourself for the work of another believer, to pour out your life sacrificially for the ministry and faith of others?  Or do you say “I am not willing to be poured out right now and I don't want God to tell me how to serve Him.  I want to choose the place of my own sacrifice.  And I don't want to have certain people watching me and saying, “Well done.”

“It is one thing to follow God's way of service if you are regarded as a hero, but quite another thing if the road marked out for you by God requires becoming a doormat under other people's feet.  God’s purpose may be to teach you to say “I know how to be abased…”  Philippians 4:12

“Are you ready to be sacrificed like that? Are you ready to be less than a mere drop in the bucket – to be so totally insignificant that no one remembers you even if they think of those you served?  Are you willing to give and be poured out until you are used up and exhausted-not seeking to be ministered to, but to minister?”  “My utmost for His highest”  Oswald Chambers

NO!!!  I was not ready for that.  I put that book down and did not pick it up again for a long time.  It sounded terrible.  Now, I look back and think in all of creation the mighty hands of God Himself placed me in a position to be challenged, first by men He sent, then by Himself through a book, then by almost three decades of life that while beautiful, has included hard, painful struggle. 

Let me say it clearly, I have a beautiful life.  But the reason that the death of a child, a long running battle with autism, death of parents, death of friends, death of my best friend, earthly struggles with money and emotional and psychological pain can look beautiful is that we realize that the mixture represents the drink libation that scared the crap out of me 25 years ago.  God has to have a good laugh at me once in a while.  That devotional was not clarifying my willingness.  That devotional was telling me about the journey God already knew was about to start. 

Since that day God has repeatedly told me that my job is to pour out my life.  That started with those friends.  It included my work, my family, my friends – everything. My job is to pour, His job is His job, not mine.

As I have grown older, I have developed a better level of maturity related to struggle.  I expect it at times, but not as a pessimistic source of God removing His blessing from me or anyone else.  Rather, I have seen God use difficulties over and over.  I have seen patience develop where it did not exist before.  I have seen resolve grow where a confused attitude had grown previously.  I have realized that for me, God can remove, leave or create any obstacle.  But He has to balance that ability with the fact that if He removes me from a struggle I may not think I need to rely on Him.  If there is no issue, will I seek Him every day?  Will you?

I do not know the situation of anyone who reads this.  I have grown more comfortable with the fact that Jesus has used a scenic route to end up with me writing.  I also know that He has used the writing He has given me – on me.  I am reminded, if I pour myself out as an offering to, it does not matter if He uses it or not, that is neither my job nor my decision.  My decision is to pour out my life as a sacrificial offering to Him.

But I want to encourage you.  I want to point you to hope.  I want any part of my life with a remote chance to help any part of yours to do so.  I am willing, but God does not necessarily let me, or you, in on the Master plan in advance. 

If you are tired in the middle of your journey the only path I have found that results in rest ends with Jesus.  The only path I have found to peace ends with Jesus.  The only path I have ever found for any question that matters ends with Jesus.  It is the start of any spiritual path that for me is usually marked by difficulty or struggle to gain perspective.  But the only answer I have ever found that matters is Jesus. 

Ever wonder why you are going through difficulties? 

Like me, have you ever wondered why we end our journey pointed at Jesus when it would be easier to start the journey pointed at Him?

Challenge:  Stop confusing hard paths with punishment.  Climbing a mountain requires effort to reach the peak.  Our ultimate summit is not perfection here, it’s in heaven.  Hard is a relative term anyway.  What amounts to a hard challenge for some is not so difficult for others.  With a motivation to worship, each person can pour out their own drink offering to Jesus.  Will you?

Rick Claiborn