God gives homework? Jesus’ coming to earth has been portrayed as an assignment from His Father. Jesus Himself gave assignments to His disciples and now, He gives assignments to us. Working in collaboration is a hallmark of how God is present in the world.
He sent His disciples out to preach the gospel, heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, and cast out unclean spirits. In assigning His disciples, Jesus gave explicit instructions, stating where to go and not to go, what to carry and not to carry, where to stay, what to eat, and how to respond if a house was found worthy or unworthy.
What doesn’t seem explicit was exactly how they were to heal the sick, cleanse the lepers and cast out unclean spirits, The disciples had obviously had been closely watching Jesus and must have modeled their actions on Him for they came back elated that even the demons were subject to them. It was, of course, Jesus’ delegated authority, that brought the disciples success. On their own, they never could have carried out this assignment. It is not unusual for God to assign things that are beyond our capabilities. This is not a mistake, but a deliberate action on His part to insure a collaborative effort.
A PARTNERSHIP
God wants a partnership, a relationship, not simply servants who carry out His instructions. If we can complete God’s assignments on our own, we are likely to take the assignment and run with it, fostering a self-sufficiency which can grow into an attitude of doing things our own way without God. If we must depend upon Him to complete our assignments, we are more likely to maintain a close connection with Him and be acutely aware that He is the one to be glorified. Jesus modeled this perfectly. Jesus never indicated that He was doing miracles on His own. It was always in partnership with His heavenly Father. Speaking to the Pharisees, He declared:
Most assuredly, I say to you,the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does… (John 5:20).
And during another encounter with the Pharisees, Jesus similarly stated:
When you lift up the Son of Man,then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things.And He who sent Me is with Me.The Father has not left Me alone,for I always do those things that please Him (John 8:28-29).
Jesus is our example. At the Last Supper, preparing the disciples to carry on His work after He left, Jesus asserted, “As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me (John 15:5).” This is the plan We are never expected to fulfill God’s assignments without Him.
Is that my experience?
As I carry out God’s assignments am I conscious of the need to wait for His instructions, to let Him shoulder the weight, to set the timing, and to empower me or is my mind filled with my strategies, my plans, and my responsibilities, leaving little room for a shared endeavor?
ASSIGNED TO PRAY
God assigns all of us to pray, but the specifics of the assignment will vary. Often, we take up God’s assignment to pray for a person or situation, but never pause to ask Him how we should pray. Surely, I know how to pray, don’t I? Usually the only thing stopping our activity is failing to see results. Only when realizing our way is not working, do we turn to Him for guidance.
I don’t imagine when Jesus prayed, it was a singular effort. Wouldn’t He have included His prayer life in “I only do what I see the Father doing and what He tells me to do and say”? It is essential that we learn to carry out God’s assignments, even and especially with prayer, in collaboration with Him.
I am the vine, you are the branches…for without me you can do nothing.
John 15:5
I am the vine, you are the branches…for without me you can do nothing.
John 15:5
I am the vine, you are the branches…for without me you can do nothing.
John 15:5
How long does it take to learn this lesson?
GETTING US READY
Jesus did not send His disciples out after they had been following Him for only two weeks. He took time to prepare them. They spent much time watching Him work as He healed the sick, cast out demons and preached the good news. The disciples were probably unaware that they were being prepared to do the same works as Jesus, but when they were ready, Jesus presented them with their assignment. Likewise, He will prepare us for our assignments.
In my own life, He has prepared me for prayer assignments through learning of the practices of others. For instance, I have learned that praying His Word can have a major impact on prayer. Teacher Debbie Przybylski remarks that God is “deeply touched” when we pray the truths in His word back to Him.[i] Not only that, but Przybylski further observes, “it marks us inside, changes us and builds us up.” That has been my experience. Praying His word over a situation or person, increases my belief that God will make a difference. Further, praying God’s word releases spiritual power and His authority into a situation.
[i] Przybylski, D., 3.30.2015, The power of praying God’s word,https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/prayer/the-power-of-praying-god-s-word.html, accessed 3.22.2023
As we pray, it is important to speak His word out loud. God didn’t think the world into being; He spoke it into existence. As we speak His word, we are speaking healing, deliverance, and blessing come into our circumstances. He promised that His word would not return to Him void, but prosper (Isaiah 55:10) and that He would watch over His word to perform it (Jeremiah 1:12). Those are reasons enough to saturate our prayers with His word.
Others have also taught me about praying and speaking with Jesus’ authority. Without His authority, we are powerless to do the things He assigns. We can no more heal anyone or even bring them to repentance than the disciples were able to do. With His authority, we can do these things and more–things such as change adverse circumstances.
Jesus taught persistence in prayer (Matthew 7:7; Luke 18:1-8). When He assigns us to pray for certain situations or persons, He expects us to keep praying until the answer comes. Simple? It seems so, but we can be strongly tempted to drop the prayer assignment when the answers are delayed. It helps to remember past experiences when continued praying brought an answer. I had a situation in my own life that took two years for God to resolve. When I knew things were coming close to a decision, I deliberately prayed about the situation every day for five months. At the last moment, I saw God completely turn things around in my favor. I am convinced if I had not persisted in prayer, this would not have been the outcome. When answers are long in materializing and my resolve is weakening, this experience has become a touchstone for motivating persistent prayer.
UNIQUE ASSIGNMENTS
God has put much effort into individualizing our lives, so why do we try to duplicate His assignments for others rather than seeking Him for what He has in mind for us? He has created us as individuals. Why would He not design unique assignments for us? He has given us special and singular abilities. Why would He not take these capacities into account in His assignments for us? We have distinct backgrounds, circumstances. Why would He not use these when assigning His works to us?
MULTIPLE ASSIGNMENTS
Prayer is only one type of assignment. God has multiple ways of investing His purposes into our lives. He can assign us to create new projects or to support others in their initiatives. He can assign us to specific relationships, sometimes a single person or, at other times, numerous persons. He can assigns us to our own backyard, our families and personal circumstances, but also beyond. It is essential that we hear from Him as to His unique assignments for us. We obviously cannot take on the entirety of the world and, without His direction, we become overwhelmed, leading to burnout and closing ourselves off. We must trust Him to give us the responsibilities He intended for us and let Him carry the weight of the world.
What specific assignment has the Lord given you in this moment?
• Have you thought to ask Him what is His assignment for you right now?
• Are you conscious of how He has prepared you for the assignment?
• Does it strengthen your conviction in the assignment when you recognize ways that He has been preparing you?
• Can you identity His instructions for the assignment?
• Can you identify how the assignment doesn’t just stretch your limits but beyond your capabilities?
• Do you know how to partner with Him rather than go it alone?
THE PAINTING
The twelve striped panels represent twelve assignments, each distinct in color and form, unlike the others. The striping for each panel is meant to suggest a collaborative effort needed to accomplish the assignment. The forms are not always equally divided between two hues, but possess an interdependence in which one part cannot be removed without diminishing the whole. In the context of this devotional, the painting is meant to be suggestive of our assignments from our Father—joining together in a unique effort.
Lord Jesus, what I have most learned from writing this devotional is the importance of working with You, not for You.
Learning to let You carry the responsibility is not as simple as it appears. I confess that I often take the opposite tact, but If I need to turn to You fifty zillion times a day, that is better than trying to shoulder everything myself—better for me, better for the results, and better for our relationship.
Thank You for caring enough to create specific work for me. It gives my life meaning and purpose. I know that You are not creating, as we say, ‘busy’ work. Your assignments matter.
Your own life witnesses to the seriousness of the Father’s assignments. The entire world hinged on Your fulfilling His assignment for You. There was no one else who could take Your place. You did not sit and wait for the world to come to You, but You set Your own agenda according to the Father’s vision.
You worked constantly, not with a frenetic busyness, but with a purposeful, resolute rhythm ordering Your life. This steadiness and sureness came from being in constant contact with Your Father, working with Him, not for Him. As Isaiah states, You set Your face like flint to go to Jerusalem. This was Your assignment and You did it with perfect timing, grace, and humility.
You are our example showing us how to work with the Father, carrying out His assignments as a collaborative venture, following, not leading. Show us the significance of His assignments for making a difference in our world.
To be given an assignment from You is a privilege. Help me to more carefully consider Your assignments for me, realizing they represent Your heart–Your heart for what You want to accomplish, Your heart for me, and Your heart for deepening our relationship.
Sydney Walker, March 25, 2023
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2 responses to “ASSIGNMENTS”
Tremendous insight into how best to do this “Christian journey” that we are on. Our ability to impact this world for God’s Kingdom is totally dependent on our ability to align ourselves in partnership with the Father and be willing to follow His lead in everything. Help us Holy Spirit.
I am so glad you listened to the voice of the Master to write this important post. I have gleaned much, and am especially in agreement with your prayer: “Lord Jesus, what I have most learned from writing this devotional is the importance of working with You, not for You”. And Loving Father, I also add, may I put aside “my strategies, my plans, and my responsibilities”, and look to You since all that I need is found in and with You, Amen.