Put on a Shelf

[Trustinhim]

Several years ago Dr. Stanley spoke about being "Put on a Shelf". I am seeking scripture that supports that thought. I found a short video in which he discussed how that happens but found no scripture cited. Does anyone have supporting scripture?

Edited June 17, 2019 by Trustinhim
wording

[Who me]

On 17 June 2019 at 2:51 PM, Trustinhim said:

Several years ago Dr. Stanley spoke about being "Put on a Shelf". I am seeking scripture that supports that thought. I found a short video in which he discussed how that happens but found no scripture cited. Does anyone have supporting scripture?

Biblegateway is a great way of searching for a verse one partialy remembers or for themes and other ideas in the bible.

Being put on the shelf is not a biblical idea, it is a social idea relating to unmarried women not getting married.

May I suggest you contact who ever holds stanleies online and taped surmons for them to trace the surmon you are looking for.

[BeauJangles]

@Trustinhim Understood your first post is not in Worthy Welcome, but I would like to welcome you to WCF. God bless you!

Shalom, 

David/BeauJangles

[GandalfTheWise]

On 6/17/2019 at 8:51 AM, Trustinhim said:

Several years ago Dr. Stanley spoke about being "Put on a Shelf". I am seeking scripture that supports that thought. I found a short video in which he discussed how that happens but found no scripture cited. Does anyone have supporting scripture?

He used the term "put on a shelf" to mean when God stops using a Christian for ministry for a time.  In the video, he seems to attribute this entirely to punishment/chastisement and God dealing with hard heartedness.  He also seems to think that this can be temporary or lifelong.  I think that this is unbalanced.  It puts seems to put everything in terms of our lives being primarily driven by getting rid of sin rather than by being shaped by God into who He intends us to be.

Many Christians get put on the shelf for times of growth.  I know some Christians would say Moses was put on the shelf for 40 years because he presumptuously killed the Egyptian and tried to get ahead of God.  They seem to see Moses' 40 years primarily as punishment or consequence of his errors.   I think they see the 40 years as something negative that could have been avoided and that Moses' life would have been better without.  However, in God's greater plan, He didn't want Moses to be another pharaoh or military leader over His people.  God wanted a Hebrew prophet.  That 40 years in the desert changed Moses from an educated Egyptian into a self-sufficient shepherd living the life that God's people would be leading in the promised land.  No amount of effort on Moses' part was going to change him from living and thinking like an Egyptian to living and thinking like a Hebrew without decades of actually living the life.  Some Christians would call this being put on the shelf and a wasted 40 years.  I would call this 40 years of necessary transformation to become what God wanted Him to be:  a Hebrew prophet.  Moses needed to be out in the wilderness to be changed from a sophisticated wealthy urbanite into a hard working shepherd living off the land.  Moses had 40 years of few obligations becoming a true Hebrew before being saddled with the burden and weight of leadership.

I think rather than being "put on the shelf", many Christians are "sent on vacation" or "enrolled in advanced training" instead.  When God closes many (or all) doors for ministry, there can be many reasons for it.  One reason can be that something in our life has gotten so out of control God pulls us out of ministry for our own good and the good of others.  I think however more often it is because God wants us to take a needed break, move to something else, or to move into a time of change and transformation.

Speaking for myself, a number of years ago, I hit a point where literally every ministry I was in either shut down or I was left out of.  This was after being a Christian for over 30 years and very active in every church and ministry I was in.   Even at work, I had a boss who wouldn't use my abilities and put me off in a corner.  I went from being active in a lot of things to having nothing.  I went stir crazy.  I asked around and looked for places to be involved and found nothing.   I looked for hidden sin, spiritual attacks, what the next open door was, and found nothing.   When I finally settled down and start to relax (which was several months), I found God was taking me on a journey of transformation.  Throughout my life, I had made activity and accomplishments my identity.  I saw myself through the filter of being a good Christian, a good husband, a good father, a good employee, a good church member, etc.  I saw my purpose in life as learning about my gifts and talents and using them in service to God to bear much fruit.  I was doing what most Christians do, taking on the identity and practices of what we think God wants us to do and be.  However, I was completely missing that God didn't want me being busy doing things, but rather to simply be the unique person He created me to be.  In order for God to teach me who He made me to be, I needed to be in a quiet place clear of obligations, responsibilities, and distractions.  It was a year or so long desert experience that changed me deeply.  I walked out of that desert in much better position to do ministry than I had been before.  I found that there was a new anointing on everything I did.  I walked out of that desert much more confident and calm and assured than I had been in my entire life and with a much clearer sense of who God made me to be.  My gifts and talents are now tools to use and not an identity and purpose in and of themselves.  Ministry is now something that naturally flows out from me rather than a laborious activity to be found worthy of.  For me, being put on the shelf was a needed time away from busy-ness and distraction for a time of transformation and change.