Merciful Ignorance

The old saying says, "Ignorance is bliss."

I've personally experienced the truth of that statement a number of times in my life. The funny thing is that you can't realize the power of it's truth while you remain ignorant. (Think about that for a minute.)

It makes me think of another, similar saying: "What you don't know can't hurt you."

Really? I've been blindsided in my ignorance--maybe it would be more accurate to say, "by my ignorance"--a few times. The fact that I didn't see "it" coming didn't seem to make it hurt any less. In fact, not knowing prevented me from bracing for the impact... That would've been nice.

But recently, I've had the opportunity to experience something similar in circumstance, but completely different in spirit. Similar in that There was something going on of which I was totally unaware... Different in that it was to my benefit that I was ignorant.

You see, all I really want is to be used by God to be a change-agent in people's lives. While that ambition may be noble in and of itself, there's a lot of room for selfish ambition to ride the coattails of nobility into personal gain. That transparency may seem a little awkward to you, but I've learned that selfish ambition draws it's power from the hidden places of my heart... The surest way to keep it in check is to expose it for what it is.

Having said that, let me continue...

All I want is to be a change agent for the life-giving God... A catalyst for Christ, if you will. I want that so bad--and at the same time I'm so task-oriented--that I have often found myself trying to "help God out" with people instead of taking my place as a tool in the Master's hand. I've tried to live my life that way... Not just my ministry, but my whole life.

For several months now, I've received a bunch of testimonies--often 2 or 3 a week--from people whom God has touched through me. The irony is that it's often completely unrelated to anything I was consciously doing to impact their life.

In other words, God used me in my ignorance. And I'm so glad He did it that way, because it makes it that much harder for me to think--even for a moment--that I had anything to do with it! I do NOT want to share His glory!!

Not only would I try to steal His glory, but the next time I stood to "do the Lord's work", I'd be thinking about the great work that I was doing. Maybe you don't wrestle with those kind of pride issues, but my life is full of them!

So, God--Who is so full of mercy--mercifully keeps me in the dark, giving me just the right amount of encouragement I need to keep my zeal ablaze, and just the right amount of ignorance to keep my pride in check.

It truly is "Merciful Ignorance."