Start Right, Stay Right

I am sitting here today thinking about the "middle" of things. Specifically, I’m thinking about how the way we start something often determines where we land. Whether it is planting a church in the mountains of Peru or walking through a season of physical illness, the foundation we build upon is everything. Meanwhile, I am currently navigating a "middle" season of my own, and I wanted to pull back the curtain a bit and share what the Lord is teaching me through it.

I am headed into my last two scheduled radiation treatments for the two tumors in my left lung. To be honest, I have been a little uncomfortable from the treatments, and I am more than ready for them to be over. We will do another scan in August to see what has happened. Specifically, the doctors hope to see scar tissue, indicating those tumors are no longer living.

During one of my recent visits, I asked the doctor how long I had left. He looked at me and said, "Austin, you keep resetting the clock, so who knows?" He pointed out that I have already outlived most of the charts. Then he told me something that stayed with me: if he did know the date, he wouldn’t tell me. He said I need to learn to live today and not worry about what might happen tomorrow.

That is good advice for anyone, but it is especially poignant for a pastor who should already know that. Consequently, I am choosing to live in the "today" of God's grace. Every day, I take a plethora of medications, including mebendazole and ivermectin, but I know that, ultimately, it is the grace and mercy of the Lord that has taken such good care of me. I will continue my monthly trips to the First Nations Clinic in Tennessee, where the team prays with us and treats us like family. God is so very good.

This perspective of living for "today" while building for the future is at the heart of an article I published today at Alignment Ministries, titled "Starting Right." Every parent understands that the habits formed in the first few years of a child's life carry weight far beyond childhood. The same holds true for a young church.

What nationals learn to practice in the earliest months of a new work becomes the pattern they will hand to the next generation. Therefore, if you start them right, you build a foundation that lasts decades.

One of the biggest mistakes a missionary can make is doing everything for the people. For example, a national church member should learn to tithe from the very first offering, not after years of watching foreign money cover the bills. Even sweeping the floor and cleaning the bathrooms belong on this list. When nationals sweep their own building from day one, they learn a sense of ownership. If a missionary does it for them for fifteen years, he teaches them that someone else is always responsible for what is theirs.

Nothing damages a national leader faster than being handed tools he can never sustain. If a missionary buys expensive equipment the church could never replace, he hasn't helped that leader; he has planted a landmine. We must ask: Can this national leader sustain what I am about to hand him after I am gone?

However, none of this works if it is driven by a fear of failure or pressure to perform. A believer who tithes or leads out of guilt will eventually burn out. But a believer who leads because they have grasped that they are already a son, already loved and trusted, will keep going long after the missionary has gone home. You can read the full breakdown of these principles here: Starting Right at Alignment Ministries.

While I was thinking about building right, I was also drawn to one of the most overlooked books in the Bible: Obadiah. I wrote a deep dive on this today at waustingardner.com titled "Discovering the Father's Covenant Love in Scripture's Most Overlooked Book."

Obadiah is only 21 verses long, and it's mostly about the judgment of the nation of Edom. But when you look more closely, it becomes a beautiful love letter from a Father who refuses to forget His wounded children.

One of the deepest fears we carry is that nobody really knows what happened to us. Obadiah answers that fear. The Lord saw the betrayal Jerusalem faced from their "brothers" in Edom. He saw every tear.

This ancient promise was still standing, generations later. Not because Israel was perfect, but because the Father’s faithfulness was never built on their performance. It was built on His character.

Many of us define ourselves by what was done to us: a betrayal, a divorce, a church that hurt us. But Obadiah reminds us that while what happened to you is real, it does not define you. Your Father does. The book ends with a kingdom that belongs to the Lord, not to those who tried to ruin you. You can read the full study here: The Father’s Heart in Obadiah.

Whether we are talking about the "start" of a church or the "middle" of a cancer battle, the answer is the same: rest. We don't have to perform to be loved by God or to be healed. We are already loved. We are already held.

The Christian life was never meant to be powered by fear or pressure. It was meant to be lived from being loved first.

Thank you for your prayers as I finish these treatments. I am resting in the goodness of a Father who sees, who remembers, and who is always resetting the clock in my favor.

Focus on the Father’s character today rather than the uncertainty of next month. Trusting God for today’s grace is the only way to find rest while navigating a hard season.

Yes, but it requires a shift from performance to identity. When people realize they are sons and daughters of the King, they naturally want to take care of what belongs to their Father's house.

Because justice is simply covenant love defending what is precious to it. A loving Father cannot stay silent when His children are mistreated; He defends them because He loves them.

Austin Gardner is an international speaker, author, and mentor with over 50 years of ministry experience. He is a survivor of Stage 4 cancer and COVID, and he has dedicated his life to helping leaders align their lives with grace.

#AustinGardner #Grace #Mercy #FaithBasedDevelopment #SatisfactionInJesus

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