I’m a Fool for Christ

Are you excited about what God is doing right now in your life? Against all odds, do you believe that He is blessing you? I believe with you–for you, and also for myself. But the Lord has told me that, especially this month in June, I’m going to have to let myself be a fool for Christ.

You might need to be a fool for Christ, too.

What does it mean to be a fool for Christ?

In 1 Corinthians 1:25-29, God’s Holy Spirit led the apostle Paul to write this precious passage:

“Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.

But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty;

and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence” (1 Corinthians 1:25-29 NKJV).

I’ve always loved this passage because I’m one of the foolish things.

In the flesh, there is absolutely no reason for me to be able to do what I do for a living. Me, blessed to be serving the Lord and you in full-time ministry? Me, running a global ministry and making disciples for Jesus? It’s all by the grace of God, but who would ever have thought it?

It had to be God, because for most of my life, no one has ever thought I was worth much.

Since I got saved at age 21, I believed the Lord could do anything. And when He called me to preach shortly thereafter, I knew the Lord had called me, but I saw only obstacles when I looked with my natural eyes:

• I wasn’t related to the right people, but all the people around me who came from “the right families” were getting promoted left and right, whether or not they deserved it or had any character to back it up.
• I didn’t have any money, and didn’t come from a family that did.
• I am a woman, and I attended a church denomination that is adamant against women preachers.
• Nobody saw me as being important or anointed. I was always overlooked, ignored, and thought low of.
• I wasn’t flashy or beautiful in a girly way. The women around me who constantly had their nails done, their coiffures perfect, and their perfect, perky little bodies were admired and adored, adulated and promoted left and right. But I was just plain, and always have been. I’ve always been more of a tomboy. (I like gorgeous cars with big engines; power tools; doing home repairs; and wearing comfortable shoes. I’ve never had acrylic nails or false eyelashes in my life; I hate cooking and housekeeping; and I still think that getting my hair colored, now that it has a lot of gray, is a pain in the posterior region … even though I do submit to it occasionally.)
• I’m not a networker, and I’m not willing to kiss up or manipulate anyone in order to get what I want. I’m not part of the good ol’ boys (or girls) network, and I don’t care. I despise that whole mentality.

So you see, I’ve never fit in. The only people I’ve ever fit in with are other misfits like me.

But here’s why that matters:

God took a misfit like me and decided, all on His own, to do something with my life.

I have to give Him all the credit; I certainly get none. A lot of people think I must be strong to be in full-time ministry, and maybe I am; I don’t know. But if I am, it’s only in God’s estimation; because what I feel every day is weakness. I am the weakest person I know, and I have to fall on God’s grace every day–sometimes for hours every day–in private prayer and study of the Word in order to receive the grace, strength, physical energy, and emotional fortitude to get ready and face the day.

I’m not exaggerating. If God didn’t get me through the day every day, I’d run off and hide in a cave somewhere. I’m that extra of an introvert.

But God apparently decided He could do something with my weakness, so He is. I’m very grateful. But again, I’m acutely aware that only He is doing it, and only He sustains it.

But let’s get back to being a fool for Christ:

When you’re called to stand firm in faith, you look like a fool sometimes. God makes you stand in faith and believe that everything’s going to be okay, despite the fact that NOTHING you can see with the logical eye tells you that anything will be okay.

For example:

• God has provided 10.64 acres of land to this ministry (through the generous donations of readers like you!), paid for free and clear, and that land has been developed. We’re using it to build Paid-For Parsonages for local Pastors In Need. We’ve surveyed the land, developed the land, run utilities onto the land, built a road onto the land, and we now need $450,000 to build the first parsonage, and another $1.5 million to build the other three. There is no logical reason to think we could get even as far as we are, let alone build the houses. It is not in our natural fleshly ability or budget to do it. But God.
• Right now, I need $9,200 to even finish paying our ministry’s month-end expenses from the month that ended yesterday. There’s no logical reason why I wouldn’t be panicking. But, I have to stand firm in faith.
• In the current American economy, donations have been so low for several years now that I’m not even getting paid a regular salary. I will always take care of my employees first; that’s what a good leader and steward does, and I cry out to God to give me wisdom every day. We are excellent stewards. But times are tough, and I’ve been paying myself what’s left over from day to day, and many weeks there’s not much left over–or nothing left over at all, after our expenses and other employees are taken care of. Logic would say to downsize our employees, but we are discipling most of our employees, and they are essential to the function of the ministry, and we don’t feel led to downsize them. All of this is illogical, but it does line up with the wisdom of the Word. And still, God has called me to stand in faith.
• And ministry is personal to me. I’m ministering to real people out my personal relationship with God, built upon the experience of years of personal pain, deliverance, healing, and very hard-won victory; teaching people the Word based on personal revelation, and yet I get personally attacked, badmouthed, called a whore and a b*tch, yelled at, cussed, cursed, insulted, maligned, lied about, betrayed, proverbially stabbed in the back, and so on, nearly every day … all from people who claim to be Christians. There’s nothing about that that’s okay, except Jesus said a servant is not above his master. If they persecuted Him, they’ll persecute me too, and I have no right not to expect it … even if it stinks sometimes.

And amidst all these things, the #1 temptation the enemy throws at me is to quit–but I can’t quit.

The reason I can’t quit is that GOD told me to do what I’m doing, and His call on your life is not a suggestion. It’s a mandate; it’s a command. And if I quit, I would be disobeying God. And the #1 thing that matters more to me in life than any other thing is to keep from sinning against God.

So I can’t quit, even on days when I really feel like quitting, because I can’t disobey God. Even though I really feel like quitting sometimes, especially when times are exceedingly difficult, and even when I feel abandoned and alone.

Yet, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Christ.

And I have to keep standing in faith, even when my willpower feels extremely weak and my flesh doesn’t believe at all. But faith is not a feeling; faith is a choice. And I’ve come too far with the Lord to be able to go back. I’ve seen His faithfulness, and I’ve seen Him come through too many times.

So I look like a fool sometimes, and in the month of June I plan to look like more of a fool.

I look like a fool often because I’m still standing. I have to pay the ministry’s studio and office rent on Monday, and I don’t know how God’s going to provide that amount of money between now and then–but I know He will. And we can’t function without our offices; the ministry has grown too large. Yet, I look and feel like a fool continuing to invite people to give, when our existing partners are so generous but tens of thousands of people out there only take and never give.

Yet I have to remain standing, and I will continue to look like a fool if that’s what’s needed.

But it gets even more foolish-looking:

The Lord has spoken to my staff and me that it’s time to move on the Paid-For Parsonages for Local Pastors Project. We are standing today and we are believing all month long that the funding we need for the first parsonage …

… which is $450,000 to $500,000, and it’s NOT a big house, but it is highly efficient and is going to meet the needs of the first recipient family we have chosen …

… that that funding is going to come in THIS MONTH, from somebody who catches the vision and believes in this project.

I know that makes me look like more of a fool than ever.

The Lord has grown this ministry from selling my first $4 MP3 many years ago (and making $8 in one day, YEARS after starting the blog) to having 8 employees and a global reach. So we are blessed and prosperous, both personally and for the ministry. But that growth comes with challenges, especially in the current economy.

Not gonna lie: times have been difficult. So I feel like a total FOOL to stand in front of you today and say that I’m believing God for our first million-dollar gifts, and for the money for the first pastor’s parsonage to come in, when we need a miracle to finish paying our bills for the month that ended yesterday.

I look like a fool.

And I don’t care anymore.

Let God be true and every man a liar.

People may come and go, but God is always here. People can be fickle, but God remains the same. People may like me or not like me, however the case may be, but God chose me and called me. He called me, He made me, He loves me, and He is able to use me, even though I’m a misfit fool in the eyes of the world.

But God has a use for us misfit fools:

“Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.

But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty;

and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence” (1 Corinthians 1:25-29 NKJV).

And so I’m going to stand and look like a fool for Christ, while I just keep on standing in faith.

I’m putting you and the world on notice: I’m asking God to fund the parsonages in June. I’m asking Him to begin providing more people who will come along beside me and notice the call on my life, and on the lives of my staff, even though I look like a misfit fool in the eyes of the world.

I’m going to stand because my call and election are sure–not because I look like anything, or am anything (I’m only a redeemed daughter of God)–but because God’s Word says so.

So I’m not going to quit, even though the enemy wishes I would and tempts me to quit plenty (like every day).

And I’m going to stay away from self-pity, even though the temptation is great to feel really sorry for myself, because let’s face it: ministry hurts sometimes.

But I’m going to stand in faith and look like an absolute idiot if need be, saying “Let God be true and every man a liar,” even when I don’t know how God is going to provide or come through for me this time.

That’s all I’ve got. I’m standing and looking like a fool if need be, but I’m looking like a fool for Christ.

I am a fool for Christ.

And the “foolishness” of believing in Christ is better and more wise than the very best wisdom this world has to offer. Logic may not be on my side; the strength of the flesh may not be on my side; people may abandon me or betray me or not be on my side for whatever reason.

But frankly, my dear, I don’t give a hoot. I couldn’t care less, at this point.

I’ve come too far to look back. I’m going to be a fool for Christ if that’s what it takes. “According to your faith be it unto you,” Jesus said, and I’m determined that my faith will get me somewhere and something, even when I have nothing to offer the world or anyone else EXCEPT faith.

Will you join me and be a fool for Christ, if that’s what it takes, by standing firm in your own faith for yourself? Leave a comment below if you will!