YOU HAVE TO

BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO...

There are some things that I do because I want to. There’s a few things I get to do because I like to. But most things I do because I have to. In fact, most of what I have done, I had to do.  And I am the better for it.

In my office there are several thousand books. All these books are in my field of interest. Most of them I purchased, many have been given to me (often by Publishers, writers and booksellers). But there are some that I “had” to buy and read. As it turns out, the books that have most often had the biggest impact on my life have been these books that I had to buy and read!

Take J. Barton Payne’s book, Old Testament Biblical Theology as a case in point. I had to read it for a course I undertook when I was a student with ICI College. I didn’t read it by choice or for pleasure. But it gripped me. It had a profound affect upon me. It helped me to better understand God, His Word, His purpose for mankind, and the difference between a covenant and a testament. I ended up highlighting something from every paragraph in that book. 

The same thing might be said of seminars that I was required to attend. The most profound seminars that I have been to and gained from were both ones that I would not have chosen to attend. Yet, it was a Ministerial Professional Ethics Seminar, that revolutionised the way I approached my pastoral ministry. 

The Father sent Jesus to die. He had to obey. The result was that both He and we were the beneficiaries (Jesus was exalted to a place of highest honour and we were redeemed).   The next time you “have” to do something - especially read a required book or attend a particular seminar/conference, you may discover that these are God’s means for equipping you. In fact, each time you enroll in an ICI College / Global University course you are positioning your soul for God to not only bless you - but to bless through you. If you have grown distracted, tired or wearied of studying, you have to get back into a consistent study routine again and you have to keep going. Because it’s when you have to - and you do - that you end up growing the most. 

Andrew Corbett