6.October.2026
An All-Inclusive Departure From “Normal”
Yesterday we sat down and counted the cost of following Jesus. Today the question turns around, because anywhere decisions get collected, a tally begins to form, and a tally always raises the same question. Whose number is this?
I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. 1 Corinthians 3:6-7
Paul and Apollos were not unimportant people, and Paul still says neither of them is anything in this picture. Both of them worked. Both of them mattered to the people they reached. Yet the growth itself was never theirs to produce, and it was never theirs to take credit for either.
That does not mean we hand the whole thing to God and wait. It is yes, and no. The result is His, but He does it through us, and that is exactly why we walk by faith. Without that, we become the disconnect, the gap in the line between Him and the person standing right in front of us. The going and the being available are ours, while the rest is His.
It also means we are no longer asking God whether we should minister to someone. If a person is in our vantage point, they are fair game, which simply means no one we encounter is outside our commission and no one is excluded.
Scripture is clear that we are meant to be ready, and it names more than one thing to be ready for.
Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. Matthew 24:44
But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear. 1 Peter 3:15
If we are told to be ready for His return and ready to give an answer to whoever asks, then why would we not also be ready to minister life to someone who needs it? That readiness starts with setting our intention, our hearts, and our ears toward His voice, and doing it in every way we possibly can, so that when He speaks we are already listening.
Where it becomes specific is when God impresses something on us to do or say.
One Christmas I was carrying a larger denomination of cash in my wallet, and as I passed a young woman I simply knew on the inside that I was supposed to give it to her. Not a mood and not an emotion, but a knowing in my spirit. I told her, “I just sense I’m supposed to give this to you.” She turned out to be a mother who was struggling, trying to figure out how to buy Christmas presents. I had no idea. She cried, told me I had no idea what this meant to her, wrapped her arms around my neck in a big hug, and walked away. I did not arrange her need, her tears, or the timing. I only handed over what had been put in front of me. It was definitely a God moment.
For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it? 1 Corinthians 4:7
That is the end of any claim to credit in that situation. Whatever we carry, we received, and whatever it does, He did. So there is nothing in us to glory in, and there is nothing in a low count to be ashamed of either.
For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ. Galatians 1:10
Here is where the pressure usually hides. Chasing a number is very often chasing approval, wanting to be seen as someone who produces results, and Paul says clearly that a servant of Christ answers to a different Master. Our job is to go, be available, and say yes when He makes it specific. The count belongs to Him.
I challenge all of us to ask ourselves this question. Whose approval am I actually working for, and whose number am I really counting?
Make today count and see you tomorrow.
Leave a comment