In thinking about the mission of God, we most often ask ourselves the question, “I wonder what kind of mission God has for me. I think a more missional mindset would ask this question instead, “What kind of ME does God want for HIS mission.”
This perspective on how we live our lives changes everything, doesn’t it? It’s no longer about my personal agenda or individual dreams but about preparing myself for the work God is bringing about for me to do in order to participate in the work of the kingdom more fully. (The greatest work of the kingdom is establishment of Christ’s rule and reign in my heart.)
I don’t always know what that work is. But one thing for sure…it is a good work…and I will miss the full potential of that work if I have not prepared myself heart to respond to the sway of the Spirit’s leading. We have to learn to keep our spiritual eyes and ears open because often the work God is bringing is nothing like we’d envisioned it to be. It would be easy to miss simply because we expect it to look a certain way. We have to be willing to receive God’s mission, not ours.
I’m sure David thought his enthronement as king would come on the heels of festive pageantry and celebrative coronation, not on his way to bring his older brothers lunch. Yet because his heart had been prepared in the solitude of the desert, he walked into the plan of God and rose to its challenge simply as a response to the Spirit’s prompting. The moment of his anointing came tethered to an ordinary day lived in an alive manner.
Gail Johnsen 