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“God has created me to do him some definite service; he has committed some work to me which he has not committed to another. I have my mission—I never may know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next.”

John Henry Newman

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TODAY’S READING: Psalms 5, 38, 41–42

David’s charm is in how he for the most part saw himself as small. The king cried out to the King, his God (Psalm 5:2). Surrounded by fawning and flattery, David never lost sight of who the real Royal was and never lost a sense of complete dependency. By some, missionaries are scolded, but in the narrow subset of evangelical and mission-minded churches, missionaries tend to be lauded. How easily we forget that our assignment is part of God’s mission and slip into thinking that we have a major role to play, when in reality there is only One central figure. An anecdote is told of a pastor who was a candidate for a new church pulpit. A not-so-sanctified senior saint did not think much of the candidate and in the middle of the service burst forth with a loud utterance: “THUS SAITH THE LORD, ‘THOU THINKEST THAT THOU ART A HUMDINGER, BUT THOU ART NOT A HUMDINGER. THOU ART ONLY A DINGER!’” God surprisingly included both the King’s English and some street slang in “His” reminder. It behooves missionaries and all God’s people to remember we are but “dingers.”

When we lose the perspective of how small we are in God’s big missionary plan, we lose some fear for God Himself. We take too much credit and blame on ourselves. David stayed small and stayed reverent, saying to the Lord: “In fear of You I will worship toward Your holy temple” (v. 7). A healthy respect of the Lord not only keeps us from presumption; it also keeps us from pessimism. Not only are we horrified at taking any glory, but we are also happy to sit back and let God work out the difficult details. We don’t strive and strain for attention or for vindication; we work hard in our corner of the field, but let God shoulder the pressure. Being small does not mean being unimportant. Small parts play big roles as long as they stay content, as long as they stay small in their own eyes.

Small roles in God’s great missionary plan don’t mean painless ones. Pain comes with missionary advance mostly because missionaries have feet of clay and make the same foolish mistakes and commit the same selfish sin that all men do. David was no exception: “My wounds are foul and festering because of my foolishness… My loved ones and my friends stand aloof… For I am ready to fall, and my sorrow is continually before me…I will be in anguish over my sin” (38:5, 11, 17–18). Greater pain in life and ministry often comes from those closest to us: “Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me” (41:9). And in those moments caused by our own blunders or by others betrayal we cry out: “Do not forsake me, O Lord; O my God, be not far from me” (38:21).

It is interesting and arresting that in the psalm of laments, when David was ashamed of his own failings and reeling from the failings of others, there is this missionary subtext all the way through. After bemoaning the betrayal of his son (finding shelter in Ammon, being defended by Cypriots and Philistines), David said: “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting! Amen and Amen” (41:13). David was literally running for his life, surrounded by a multinational band, and he praised saying, “Blessed be Jehovah Elohim of Israel forever. Let it be, let it be!” The universal undertones are dramatic. The God of Israel is the God of the nations is the God of Israel forever and ever. Let it be so!

How can we but add our amen? David’s life is an ongoing reminder that no joy (victory) and no sorrow (defeat) is ever purely personal or isolated from what God wants to do among all peoples of earth. It’s not about us. Our victories are not about us. Our defeats are not about us. Missions is not about us. What joy there is in staying small. What joy there is in preserving God as big before all the peoples of earth.

Lest we forget, missions is a thing of earth. Missions is not our joy. Missions is not our fulfilment. Going is not our reward. Sending is not our fulfilment. Praying is not our joy. Giving is not our ultimate purpose. All these are means, not ends, beautiful means, rewarding, fulfilling, joyous, and purposeful means, but just means. The end is the presence of Jesus. The end is satisfaction in the glory of God. The end is smallness in union with He who is ever and increasingly great. This is why we state with little David and little dingers from Kyrgyzstan and every demographic through history: “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God” (42:1).

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Prayer Focus: Kyrgyzstan (26 UPGs)

Today’s Unreached People Group: Uzbek, Northern
Population: 866,000
Language: Uzbek, Northern
Primary Religion: Islam
Evangelical: 0.26%
Estimated Workers Needed: 17

[Source: Joshua Project]

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