I went to Wal Mart yesterday morning and bought a wood burning tool. I will try just about anything, especially when it comes to wood working, home repairs, and projects of that nature. I had quite a time-consuming task ahead – to burn letters of the alphabet on about 600 wooden beads – so I did what anyone in their right mind would do to make the job easier. Instead of going to the workbench down in the garage, I put a TV tray in front of my chair in the living room, grabbed the remote control and a diet coke, and plugged that burner into the wall! Then the thought occurred to me - I had never used a wood burning tool before. I had seen them used on one of those home improvement shows I like so much, but I just wasn’t sure how the one I had purchased worked. So I went down in the garage and got the fire extinguisher - just in case…
Sometimes I find myself doing the same thing in my walk with the Lord. I’m ready to dive in and just totally surrender – then because of the unfamiliarity of where it may take me, I “get the fire extinguisher.” I don’t intentionally want to “put out the fire” of the Holy Spirit working in my life. I don’t think a lot of other Christians do either. Most of us want to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We just get fearful of the unknown, or complacent, or sometimes even resistant. It’s all about trust – do we trust God more than we trust ourselves?
How can we trust God pertaining to matters of our industry? Think about these scenarios: 1. The Lord has called someone into full-time ministry and they won’t let go of their secular job. 2. A singer, who has been on the road for a while, needs to take some time off for their marriage or family and chooses to ignore the problem. 3. You have a Gospel group on the road and it is not paying the bills. How do we surrender our will and trust God in these circumstances? What does the Bible tell us to do?
The first situation can be compared to the story of Jonah. He refused to go to Nineveh – to go into ministry - and look what happened! Jonah 1:15 says “So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea…” and verse 17 tells us, “…And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.” Not a pretty picture… Jonah finally went into ministry the hard way!
Second - In Mark 1:29, we read of Simon leaving the synagogue and going home where his Mother-in-law was sick. THAT is sacrifice! Now, I’m not saying that everyone should just quit their jobs and stay home to pamper demanding family members, but would you be willing to come off the road if you were really needed at home? Peter trusted that he would be able to continue in ministry with Jesus so he had no reservations about going home first. In this case, Peter was only needed a short while – the Lord showed up and healed his wife’s mother, then she did what any good Mother-in-law would do… she cooked a seven course meal! I bet Simon Peter’s wife was a lot more supportive of his ministry just knowing that he was “willing” to take care of the home first! Being away from your family has a lot more to do with the state of your heart - than whether or not you’re heart is in another State.
The last scenario should make for good discussion – this applies to Gospel groups or anyone else whose “outflow is larger than their intake so their upkeep will be their downfall!”
Tim and I were sitting on the back porch steps of our home not long ago just having a cup of coffee and chatting, which is rare for us. (The chatting is rare, not the coffee.) I have found that God does not always send you out into ministry the minute He calls you. I have believed for a long time that the future of our family is in full-time ministry, and I just felt the need to confirm to Tim that our relationship will always have priority in my life over the music. Without harmony in our home, there will be no harmony in our music. The security of knowing your spouse is trusting God is priceless! We have seen opportunity begin to come our way in recent years that convinces us that our dream of full-time ministry is finally getting close. We wasted a lot of time trusting our own judgment – that has been a lot of the delay. Kind of like the bad decision Moses made when he killed the Egyptian, landing him a 40 year tour in the desert! Had we been more willing to surrender to the Holy Spirit during all these years and trust Him, it may have come sooner. But at least we reached a place several years ago of surrender to the Lord. We could have jumped on in at that time and gone on the road, but we wanted something that God has ordained. We want a ministry that will last… no matter how long it takes us to get there! Are you willing to surrender or do you plan on keeping the fire extinguisher handy!
National Quartet Convention was a blast! October looks really busy! If you would like to find out more about our family, go to http://www.thequicksonline.com and sign up to receive “Quick” News – our email newsletter!
Be listening for our latest single, “Now I Know” released through the Rick Hendrix Company. We believe the powerful message in this song can impact listeners through radio just as it has in concert!
To order our new project, “What Are You Waiting For” with songs like “He Can Move the Water” and “Now I Know,” simply call 615-459-5119 or email us at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) for more information.
To find out more about The Quicks, visit us on the web at http://www.thequicksonline.com
To contact The Quicks, Phone: 615-459-5119 / 615-403-0047
Write: The Quicks / P.O. Box 581 / Smyrna, TN 37167
E-mail: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Author: AGM
| Author's Website: http://absolutelygospel.com/
Written: 09/30/2005
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Category: ArtistsThe Quicks
Comments: 3
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Sally, great article, as usual.
Great article as usual Sally. I really look forward to your words of wisdom every month.
Thank God for Sally!!! Timbo chastised me Wednesday night for not responding this month. Seriously, the Quick Family is real and genuine. They are consistent in their walk with the Lord. The love of Christ is shared in many ways; but, their contagious smile best conveys His love. We love the Quick Family.
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