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Letter from Earnest – April 2013

Recently, I was invited to lead worship at a men’s rally at my church. I was excited about it because I am not there very often. I spent time praying about it and praying about the music, as well as the comments I should make. It was a great opportunity because my pastor had determined he was going to make an appeal to recruit mentors.

The room had a substantial number of men present. As we went through the sound check prior to the rally, I realized that I had picked up the wrong sound track and was not going to be able to sing the solo that I had planned on. To be further frustrated, the hymns I picked had different lyrics than the ones from the same titles that were on the overheads at church. So for the most part, I was greatly frustrated and it seemed that I was singing gibberish because I wasn’t singing the words that the other men were singing.

The prayer time was very significant, the sermon was anointed and my presentation, I felt, was pathetic because of things that were beyond my control. Why am I telling you this? Even when our plans go awry and we experience some humiliation, God can and most often will be glorified. I remember before I left my house and headed to the church I prayed, “Dear God, please be glorified in my life tonight.” On my way home from church, I thought to myself, “God, if my humiliation can help someone to humble themselves before you and mankind, your Kingdom come, your will be done.”

God is exalted in our victories, but sometimes even more so in our failures – if we humble ourselves. Whether it is mentoring, singing, preaching or teaching or even giving money, it must all be done with a heart of humility, or our labor is in vain.

Please pray for me.

Your friend,