God’s Wanted

My name is Robert and I’m a retired maintenance carpenter from Ipswich Queensland. I was not always a Christian but, in my twenties, I joined the Lutheran church through marriage. I lost a lot of workmates and friends when I became a Christian and the put-downs and attacks made life very hard at times. To make things harder, people at church were not overly friendly or welcoming. I wondered, where is the love and fellowship I thought should be a part of church life?

So, after having guys from different churches hitting me with theological questions at trade college, and the pastor insisting I must embrace Lutheranism, I began attending Bible studies and discussion groups – both locally and run by the LCAQD. Thankfully, our Ipswich churches are very different these days, with warmth and laughter filling the air.

Along the way I met people who were so spiritual and knowledgeable about scripture that at times I felt useless and like a person who was lacking in faith. I sometimes wondered what our Heavenly Father must think of me. I began to ask myself what God wanted me to do with my life – I’m not a particularly smart person with not much school education. I thought about being a pastor, but my pastor at the time told me my education level was not high enough.

Then some “weird” things began to happen. My employer asked for people who were prepared to act as acting supervisors, and since most people at work did not want to do the job, I was selected. My employer put me through a course in communication and management skills and God gave me an opportunity to use these skills at church. I found myself elected to be on – and chair – a congregational life committee. I started to write basic studies on prayer, spiritual gifts and so on, and started home groups to go through these studies. The studies went to the pastor for approval and the skills I attained through my work course came in handy for encouraging people to become group leaders. I trained the leaders in communication and shared in the leadership of the first study to give them confidence. Even though people had never experienced a young person doing such things the results were amazing! There was opposition against such an unusual experience in a church but eventually young and old became involved and enjoyed this simplified way to understand scripture.

You see, the Holy Spirit had been guiding me, but I just didn’t understand it at the time. He will lead us where he wants us to go and give us the skills he want us to use and the jobs he wants us to do – not what we think we should do. This we see in the Bible in Acts 8:26-40 when Philip interacted with an official from Ethiopia. He began talking to this man and the man became a Christian. God was telling me, “I want you among my people and I will tell you what to say or do – just trust me and have faith.”

You see, God has placed you where you are to be his witness to the world. You don’t have to be special in people’s eyes, with great education, works or position, because you are already very important! You are a child of God, and you are very loved by him. The Holy Spirit is there with you, giving you words to say (Luke 24:44); when you feel useless and powerless and people reject you, know that even in the silence his Spirit is tending to and reaching out to the people you are around (Mark 13:10). You are there because he wants you to be there and he wants you to be you, in all your imperfections. Then they will know God loves imperfect people and he will not turn his back on anyone.

A Prison Witness

One of the many jobs I had was as a joinery foreman in a medium to high security prison. I wasn’t sure about my own safety, so I had little interaction with the inmates, but then a prisoner initiated a conversation with me. He said they knew there was something different about me and their conclusion was that I must be a Christian. You see, people know you are different by the way you behave – as it states in Matthew 12:33, a tree will be known by the fruit it bears.

I was tested at times during my work in the prison including by one fellow, heavily tattooed and rugged looking. One day he appeared a bit down, so I asked him how he was going. He revealed that he had never known his mother but had initiated contact through an agency. He received her reply, which stated that she did not wish to see or have contact with him. It was a sad situation for which I had no answers. I asked him if he had children and he replied that he had a daughter, but he didn’t communicate with her because she was a policewoman, and he felt his history and circumstances would cause problems. It was as if the Holy Spirit was giving me the words to say, so I said, “Think of it this way: you don’t have a relationship with your daughter because of your lifestyle and what you have done. Well, perhaps your mother feels the same way. She may have had a difficult time in life and had to do things that she is ashamed of, and her response is not because she does not love you.” I left him with that and a couple of days later he approached me and said he was going to try and open communication with his daughter again. He left prison a few weeks later. After a year I received a phone call from a stranger wanting to buy furniture (which we made and sold at the prison). When I asked him how he had gotten my name he told me that the guy I had talked to in prison was going to his church and had been with them for awhile!

I’ve had a few wonderful events in my life due to the Holy Spirit’s help, even though at times I still feel dumb and hardhearted. But that’s why he wants me to remind you that you are who you are because you are made that way to reach out to others with his love, in just the way he wants you to. Just love God with all your heart and love everyone as you love yourself, even your enemies. We were God’s enemies once, but he loved us so much he asked his son to pay the ultimate price for us, and Jesus did so willingly. So be encouraged! Love God, love everyone and trust in his guidance and his promises. And may God lift you up and fill you with his blessings.