Hi, I'm Joni and I'm here to tell you your mission is out of this world!
And I'm not kidding. Thanks for joining me here on "Joni and Friends" and I think it’s time you and I took a fresh look at our mission—our very large mission. Just how large? Well, friend it's absolutely cosmic; it is! No matter what God's got you doing, no matter where you’re working, you have a very large and significant ministry to—now get this—the entire world of unseen beings: angels, heavenly hosts, demons, powers, principalities. And the purpose of that mission is described so well in Ephesians 3:10 where it says that “[God's] intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms.” Now, let me paraphrase it this way: God wants to teach millions of angels and demons about his glory and His greatness and He wants to use you as His audiovisual aid.
I mean, come on, think about it, something dynamic and electrifying is abuzz all around you today. It’s filling the air; it’s agitating the atmosphere. It is angels and demons, as well as rulers of darkness and all the heavenly hosts. These millions of unseen beings are watching, they are listening to you, and they are learning about God through the way they see Him working in your life. Your life is like a blackboard upon which God is chalking marvelous lessons about Himself, all for the benefit of the unseen world. Angels—even demons—are intensely interested in your attitudes and actions if you claim they follow Christ. Especially Christians like you who bear up quietly under pain, loss, or disappointment. When God allows you to go through a painful trial, angels and demons—countless thousands of them—wait with anticipation to see how you will respond, what will you do, what will you say. And then they watch you grab hold of the grace that God makes available to you, it shows them, it teaches them that your God really is worth trusting … It teaches them His grace really is sufficient … His power really can sustain you. And that speaks volumes to them about the goodness and greatness of God. The Lord is using you to teach them wonderful lessons about His grace and character, His power and compassion.
Now, friend, this is very great news if you are feeling all alone in your hardships, because you are not alone. This is great news if you are thinking your testimony isn’t having much of an impact on others. Believe me, it is—a great many invisible others. But I still can hear you thinking, “Come on, Joni, angels eavesdropping on me? Demons hoping that I'll yell at my kids when they cross me? Powers and principalities watching to see whether I turn to God in a trial?” That’s right! The Bible tells us that angels and demons are standing on tiptoe to see how you’ll respond, especially in the midst of disappointments and problems. So take heed. Your life is on display to benefit others around you and others you cannot see. And with that in mind remember, “When God wants to drill a man, and thrill a man, and skill a man; when God wants to create so great and bold a man that all the world should be amazed, watch His methods, watch His ways: how He ruthlessly perfects whom He royally elects.”
If you’d like to read the rest of this beautiful poem, go to joniandfriends.org and click on our radio page where you can download it, print it, and send it to a friend. Until next time, thanks for listening to Joni and Friends.
© Joni and Friends, 2013
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