In late October of 2003, our family was preparing to move from Alabama to Kentucky to lead a ministry center. A few months before the move, I traveled to Kentucky to work with a mission team that had come to help at the property.
After the team finished their work, a friend took me and two board members up on top of an old strip-mining site behind the center. We spent the afternoon exploring the mountaintop and taking in the beauty of the Appalachian Mountains. The views seemed endless… mountain ridges rolling into the distance like waves on the ocean.
That evening, back at the ministry center, I found myself daydreaming about the future.
I was thinking about the endless possibilities. Camps. Retreats. Conferences. Men’s and women’s ministries. Partnerships with local churches. Community outreach.
I was also thinking about all the work that needed to be done. The buildings on campus needed major renovation. The grounds required extensive work. The needs in the community for home repair and renovation were great.
My mind was filled with plans, projects, and possibilities. As I sat there, I felt strongly compelled to open my Bible. Now, let me be clear. I don’t believe in “point-and-read theology,” where someone randomly opens the Bible and assumes whatever passage appears is God’s directive for the day. But that evening I clearly sensed the Holy Spirit’s prompting to open His Word.
When I did, my eyes fell on this passage:
“Thus says the Lord, ‘Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool. Where then is a house you could build for Me? And where is a place that I may rest? For My hand made all these things, thus all these things came into being,’ declares the Lord. ‘But to this one I will look, to him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.’” (Isaiah 66:1-2 NASB 1995)
The message could not have been clearer. I had spent the day looking at mountains and imagining ministries. I was thinking about buildings, programs, improvements, and opportunities. But God reminded me of something far greater. “Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool.” In other words, God was saying, “Jamie, do you understand who I am?”
The mountains that seemed so massive to me were part of the created earth that God describes as His footstool. Every building material, every acre of land, every resource, every opportunity… all of it already belonged to Him.
God wasn’t impressed with my plans, nor was He limited by them.
Isaiah wasn’t condemning the rebuilding of the temple after the exile. God had ordained that work. What He was condemning was the idea that human effort and religious activity could somehow substitute for a heart that was surrendered to Him.
Pastors, God doesn’t need us to build His kingdom. He graciously allows us to participate in what He is already doing. So here is the question: If God is not primarily looking for talent, ability, resources, or accomplishments, then what is He looking for?
The answer is found in the second half of verse two. “But to this one I will look…“
God identifies three qualities He values.
First, humility. Biblical humility is not thinking poorly of yourself. It is having a proper view of God and a proper view of yourself. Humility recognizes that God is the Creator and we are His servants. It acknowledges that every opportunity, every success, and every blessing comes from His hand.
Second, a contrite spirit. This speaks of a heart that is broken over sin. It is the person who sees sin as God sees it and who remains tender before the Lord. God is drawn to people who are quick to repent and eager to walk closely with Him.
Third, a heart that trembles at His Word. This is a picture of reverence and obedience. God is looking for men and women who take His Word seriously. Followers who do not merely hear it but fully obey it. When God says go, they go. When God says stop, they stop. When God speaks, they listen.
As I sat alone that evening, I sensed the Lord driving those truths deeply into my heart.
The message was simple: “I did not bring you here to build a ministry. I can do that without your help. I brought you here to be humble, to be broken over your sin, and to obey My Word. You focus on those things, and I will build the ministry and My Kingdom.” That lesson has stayed with me for more than two decades.
As bivocational and small-church pastors, it is easy to become consumed with attendance, budgets, building projects, programs, and ministry goals. Those things certainly have their place. But before God asks us to do anything, He calls us to be something: Humble. Broken. Obedient.
Twenty-two years later, I can tell you that the ministries that endured were not built because of my plans, talent, energy, or hard work. They were built because God chose to work through imperfect people who followed Him.
Perhaps you are carrying the weight of your church on your shoulders today. Maybe you are worried about finances, attendance, leadership needs, or the future. Maybe your mind, like mine on that October evening, is filled with plans, projects, and possibilities… and overwhelming needs.
If so, remember this: God has never asked you to carry His kingdom. He simply asks you to follow and trust Him. The same God who sits enthroned in heaven and uses the earth as His footstool is more than capable of building His Church.
The question is not whether He can accomplish His work. The question is whether He can find servants who will trust Him enough to obey. And perhaps that is the greatest mountaintop perspective of all.