Just A Closer Walk With Thee

                                                                  

For most of my adult life, I have been leading a church or parachurch organization. When you lead a church or organization, you have a good idea where you are going and what most days will hold. You pray for those you lead and the work that you do. It was straight forward. 

My new endeavor as director of church relations at Point University is not so clear. I know my job is to strengthen our relationships with our churches, but each day is different. Some days, I counsel and encourage ministers who are struggling. Most Sundays, I am visiting churches and pastors to share the Point story. I spend a good amount of time on the phone trying to reach ministers. I will even do some event planning. I never know what each day might hold because my primary role is to serve churches. It is very different from what I have done most of my life. 

I say all that to say I have had to adjust my mindset because I never know what role I will play on any given day. Since my primary role is to serve and I never know what that entails, my daily prayer has become, “Just a closer walk with thee, Grant it, Jesus, is my plea.”  That old hymn has become the prayer that prepares me for whatever will come my way. The closer I am to my King, the more useful I will be in doing his work. Walking with Jesus and staying in step with the Holy Spirit keeps me ready to be used in any way. 

If I can be transparent here, that should have always been my prayer. The first and most important task we have is growing closer to Christ. If I am growing closer to Christ, I will be useful to him and empowered by Him for any assignment he might have for me.