Be Strong and Courageous in This Season: Being & Doing

Be Strong and Courageous in THIS Season: Being & Doing

Acts 9:36-42
Pastor Tammy Long

For Your Heart Today

We spend a lot of time asking, What am I supposed to do? What is my purpose? Where can I serve? What does God want from me in this season?

But perhaps there is a question that comes first: How am I being with God?

When Luke introduces Tabitha, he doesn't begin with everything she did. He begins with who she was: a disciple. Her life was rooted in her relationship with Jesus, and from that relationship flowed a life of doing good and caring for others. Her place, her abilities, the people around her, and the needs she noticed all became part of how she lived faithfully with God.

The same can be true for us. God has placed each of us somewhere, surrounded us with people, given us experiences and abilities, and shaped us through all the seasons that have brought us to this one. As we spend time with God, we learn to notice what He wants us to notice: the people and needs that move our hearts, what gives us life, and the gentle nudges that arise from our time with Him.

We don't have to begin by figuring out what to do for God. We begin by being with God, listening for what He invites us to do with Him.

And if we're still breathing, God is not through with us. There is still a season to live and to love.

Takeaways

• Our being with God comes before our doing for God.
• God can use our place, people, experiences, and abilities in THIS season.
• As we spend time with God, we learn to notice what He is inviting us to do with Him.
• If we're still breathing, God is not through with us.

Breath Prayer

Inhale: Lord, let me be with You.
Exhale: Show me what is mine to do.

Full Manuscript - Estimated Reading Time ~15 minutes

Be Strong and Courageous in THIS Season: Being & Doing

Acts 9:36-42
Pastor Tammy Long

Connecting the Dots

If you've been with us for the last two Sundays, you know that we are in a series called Be Strong and Courageous in THIS Season. And I know it's felt a little different so far. For one thing, you've had some homework!

Now, no worries, I'm not asking you to turn anything in or even ask for a show of hands of who did it. Those are meant to be spiritual reflections between you and God. But I am offering them for a reason. And I gave those folders to keep them in for a reason. They are tools as we seek to recognize where God is and how God is leading us in THIS season.

Allow me to connect some dots for a moment. First, we started this series by recognizing that life comes in seasons. Ecclesiastes tells us there is a season for every activity under heaven. The season we are in today may not look like the season we were in just last year, let alone five, ten, or twenty years ago. So, the compass exercise invited you to notice what season you're in right now. What is ending? What is beginning? Where is there joy? And who is guiding and walking with you in this season?

Then last week, we expanded the lens to look at a life of seasons, our spiritual life map so far. We asked, where has God been in my story, and how has He been at work through my seasons? You may recall we looked at Moses' life as an example of God's presence from beginning to end, just as God has been present in your life, even before you knew Him.

Together, all of these and all the exercises we'll do are helping us notice and pay attention. And none of them are meant to be a one-and-done, figure-it-all-out assignment. They are part of a process of discernment, really. We're learning to notice, and to hold what we notice as we continue listening for God in THIS season. To recognize the season we're in. To look back and recognize God's presence in the seasons that brought us here. And through it all, to listen for God's leading in our lives right now.

Because being strong and courageous in THIS season is more than just about recognizing the season we're in. It's about listening for how God is inviting us to live faithfully now - for such a time as this.

Being Before Doing

And here's what I know. Scripture tells us that we are God's workmanship. His masterpiece, some translations say. We're told we were created in Christ Jesus to do good works that God prepared for us long ago.

But notice this. We are His masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus first, and the good works God prepared for us to do flow from that truth. The order is subtle, but important. Our being comes before our doing.

What we do is meant to flow from our relationship in Christ Jesus. And it is out of that relationship, our being with God through Jesus, knowing God, loving God, allowing God to form us and guide us that we learn to discern the doing that is ours to do.

Now, some of you may know exactly what that looks like for you in THIS season, and this message may affirm and confirm what you believe God has called you to do and for you it may be more about an invitation into deeper being with God.

Others may be in a transition as you consider the season you're in now. Perhaps from the compass exercise you see some things ending; you're at a crossroads about what's next and sense new beginnings. You know what past seasons looked like and saw God's hand, but you're not quite sure about the good works God has prepared for you to do in THIS season.

Well, to help us think about being and doing with God, I want us to spend some time with a woman whose life can help us think about our own. We don't know a lot about her. Her entire story takes up just a few verses tucked away in the ninth chapter of Acts. But what Luke does tell us gives us a glimpse into a life, a life of being and doing.

Her name is Tabitha.

Read Acts 9:36-42

A Life of Being and Doing

Some years ago, I attended a church in Richmond that had a strong women's ministry. Their women's ministry was organized into clusters, what we'd call small groups, and every cluster had its own mission. One cluster I especially remember because it was so active was the Dorcas cluster. Their mission was to serve and care for those in need. And boy, did they live up to their name, both inside and outside church walls.

I am reminded of them as we come to our text this morning. Luke begins with, In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (in Greek her name is Dorcas); she was always doing good and helping the poor. There is so much packed into that one little verse.

Her Place

First, let's start with where she lived. Joppa. Joppa was a port city on the Mediterranean coast, about 35 miles northwest of Jerusalem. And like most port cities, there were lots of people coming and going. Different cultures, different languages, different people mixing together. It was a diverse, cosmopolitan place.

It was also a place with a long history of skilled artisans and craftspeople, people who worked with their hands, especially in leather, wood, and metal. This is interesting because our text introduces us to a woman who knew how to work with her hands, too. We don't know whether making garments was Tabitha's occupation, the way she made a living. In fact, Luke doesn't tell us much about her at all. We don't know if she was married or had children, or even how old she was.

But he does tell us where God had placed her. And her place was Joppa. And that's worthy of a pause. Because our place is never accidental. We are where we are, with the people around us, in the season we're in. Even when it appears to be happenstance, our place is often part of what God is doing in our lives and how God is at work in that season. It's worth noticing our place.

Her Name

Luke also tells us her name. Actually, he gives us two names. We read, There was a disciple named Tabitha-in Greek her name is Dorcas.

Tabitha is her Aramaic name. Dorcas is the Greek equivalent. Both names mean gazelle. A beautiful picture of poise and grace. Although we don't actually know whether she lived up to her name. I'd like to think she did.

Luke uses both names as he tells her story. And that makes sense in a place like Joppa, where Jewish and Gentile cultures met. Maybe she was known by both names. Maybe different people knew her differently. We don't know. But Luke makes sure that before the story goes any further, we know both names. Tabitha. Dorcas. Same woman. In fact, in just a few verses we hear both names again.

But before Luke tells us anything about what she does or what happens to her, he tells us something much more important about who she is. It's tucked in so naturally that we can miss it.

Her Devotion

Luke writes, There was a disciple named Tabitha. And here's an interesting and significant note. The Greek word Luke uses here is mathētria (mah-THAY-tree-ah), the feminine form of the word disciple. And this is the only place in the New Testament where the feminine form of the word disciple is used.

Now, that's not suggesting Tabitha was the only woman who followed Jesus. We know she wasn't. The Gospels tell us about women who followed Jesus, learned from him, supported his ministry, and were present even when many others had gone. They were disciples, too. But here Luke explicitly names Tabitha a disciple.

He could have simply introduced her as a woman named Tabitha. He could have started, as we so often start, with what she did. But he doesn't. He starts with who she is. A disciple. A devoted follower of Jesus. A woman whose life, whose very being, was rooted in her relationship with Christ. And once again, we see that order. Being before doing.

Only after telling us she's a disciple does Luke tell us something about the doing that flowed from that being. He writes: She was always doing good and helping the poor.

I love that little word always. This doesn't sound like an occasional service project or charitable contribution. This sounds like a way of life for her. It suggests that if you asked people around Joppa about Tabitha, this was part of what she was known for. Tabitha? Oh, she's always doing something for somebody. She's always helping and caring. Oh, she's that one who is always doing good.

There was a disciple named Tabitha. And her doing flowed from her being.

Her Community

Then the story takes a turn. Luke tells us that Tabitha became sick and died. Her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room. The disciples hear that Peter is nearby in Lydda, and they send two men to him with the urgent request: Please come at once!

Luke doesn't tell us exactly what they expected Peter to do. Perhaps they were simply desperate for an apostle's presence in this moment of loss. Or perhaps they knew the stories of Jesus raising the dead and hoped Peter might do the same. We don't know. We only know that they wanted Peter there.

When Peter arrives, they take him upstairs, and Luke shows us who's in the room. Widows. Verse 39 says: All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them.

And notice the name Luke uses here: Dorcas. Her Greek name. In this culturally mixed city, these widows appear to be part of the Greek-speaking community. Tabitha. Dorcas. The same woman, moving across the cultural worlds of Joppa.

But beyond any cultural diversity, these weren't just people out there somewhere that Tabitha occasionally helped. These women knew her. They are gathered around her. They are grieving her. They are holding things she made.

We know how deeply God cares for widows. Throughout Scripture, widows are among those God repeatedly calls His people to see, protect, and care for. In that world, losing a husband usually meant losing economic security and social protection. Somehow, these women had become part of Tabitha's community.

We don't know whether Tabitha herself was a widow. Again, Luke doesn't say. But we do know she saw them, connected with them, and found a way to use what she had to care for them.

Her Offering

And we can see one way she cared for them in what the widows are holding. Clothes. Robes and other garments that Tabitha had made.

And I love the ordinariness of that. Not to belittle it, but to celebrate that she shared what she had to offer. Her ability to make clothes.

And you can sense how precious these clothes are to the widows. Useful. Practical. Something lovingly made with Tabitha's own hands. Now, in their hands. Tangible reminders of who Tabitha was to them. Her devotion to Jesus expressed in compassion for those in need.

Her Impact

In that upstairs room, where her body lay, Peter asks everyone to leave. He kneels and prays. And when he turns toward her, notice what he calls her. Tabitha. Her Aramaic name. He says, Tabitha, get up.

There's an echo here not to be missed. If you remember the story, Peter was there when Jesus raised Jairus's daughter. He had watched Jesus send everyone from the room except the child's parents and three of His disciples. Peter had watched Jesus take the little girl by the hand and call her name in Aramaic: Talitha koum, which means, Little girl, get up.

Peter follows what he had seen Jesus do. After he kneels and prays, he calls Tabitha to get up. When she opens her eyes, she sees Peter and sits up.

Luke writes that Peter takes her by the hand, helps her to her feet, and calls the believers and the widows back into the room. Peter presents her to them alive.

Can you imagine that room in that moment? The women who just moments before were crying and holding the clothes Tabitha had made are now looking at Tabitha herself, alive and standing in front of them.

And the story doesn't stay in that upstairs room. Luke says: This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord.

All over that diverse city, the news spread. And many believed in the Lord.

What About Us

So, what do we notice from Tabitha's story that can speak to us? We know something about her place, a culturally diverse, cosmopolitan port. We know something about her devotion, she was a disciple. We know something about her community, the widows who were around her. We know something about her compassion, she saw people in need. And we know something about her ability, she could make clothes. And all of these things came together in the life she was living with God in her season.

So I wonder what we might notice if we looked at our own lives that same way in our season. What if we ask, not just, What am I good at? What can I do? What do I want to do? But consider and notice: the places He's put you. The people He's put around you. The things that bring you joy or break your heart. The abilities and experiences you've gathered along the way. The season you're in, and all the seasons that have brought you to this one.

Now, before you go into deep-think mode. Those are good questions, and you'll get to take them home. But they're not actually where I want us to start. Remember the order Luke told us with Tabitha? She was a disciple before anything she did. She was a spiritual being before a spiritual doing.

So our first question really isn't about, God, what am I doing in THIS Season? Our first question is: God, how am I being with You, in THIS season?

Think about that for a moment-right now. I wonder, when was the last time you simply spent time with God, not asking for anything, or wanting guidance for a problem, but just enjoying His presence? Maybe taking a walk with God. Sitting quietly in nature. Singing your heart out in worship. Talking to Him while you're driving or gardening. Reading His Word simply to listen for what He wanted to share with you. Just enjoying God without needing anything from Him. When was the last time you were able to simply BE with God?

Jesus said the greatest commandment is to love the Lord God with your whole heart… Because we're not trying to do things FOR God to earn God's favor or be a good Christian. We are listening for what God would have us do WITH Him out of our love for Him.

Doing flows from being, as it did for Tabitha. And as we grow in being with God, we learn to notice what he wants us to notice through his eyes and heart. To notice His fingerprints around us. To notice the people and needs around us that move our hearts. To notice what gives us life and brings joy to others. To notice the gentle nudges that arise out of our times with God.

We notice, we listen, and then we do.

If You're Still Breathing

And there's one more thing about Tabitha that I love! She got up.

We've often said at South Bay: If you're still breathing, God is not through with you. Well, Tabitha literally got her breath back. And while the Bible doesn't tell us what she did the next day, maybe she went right back to making clothes. Or maybe God gave her another assignment. We don't know. But here's what we do know. She had another season to live and to love. And as long as we're breathing, so do we.

THIS season may not look like any season you've lived before. Your assignment may have changed or be changing. Your capacity may have changed. But God is still at work in your life in THIS season, too. God has been present in every season that brought you here. God has been shaping you through the whole of your story.

You are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works. And if you're still breathing, God is not through with you.

Continue the Reflection

Being and doing is something we discern over time. This week's Reflection Guide offers space to consider both sides of that journey: How am I being with God in THIS season? And what might God be inviting me to do with Him?