Discouraged in Ministry? Remember these Three Things:

A friend in ministry texted me the other day about his frustrations in ministry.  He was feeling like he wasn’t the right guy for the job (even though I knew he was exactly the right man for the job) and he talked about thoughts of giving up.  I wished I could reach through my HTC One and give him a huge hug.

We’ve all been there right?  Frustrated.  Discouraged. 

If you’ve ever done any kind of ministry - whether it is teaching Sunday School, leading music, serving in missions or outreach, or even full time pastoral ministry – you know that frustration can easily set in.

When that happens you may be tempted to quit.  And in fact sometimes there is a time to move on.  But before you do, please remember three things:

1. Discouragement is normal.  Ministry is hard.  It always was.  It always will be. Learn to deal with it.  I do not say this glibly.  You will have times when things go smoothly and ministry brings great joy and fulfillment, but from the first disciples who had to deal with being betrayed by one of their own number, or found themselves running ragged looking after widows, to the present day, we see that ministry is a challenge.  In my experience the most rewarding things in life usually are hard won.

2. Discouragement is a spiritual battle.  You understand that if you let discouragement get to you that the Enemy wins, right?  The Devil has very little power over us that we do not give to him ourselves.  I think that’s why in one place Peter, who knew a lot about the trials of ministry, told his contemporaries (and by extension us) to resist the Devil. In 1 Peter chapter five we find an encouragement to the “shepherds of God’s flock.” 

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.” 1 Peter 5:6-9  

3. Discouragement will pass.  It will.  Honestly.  If you resist the nagging lies of the Enemy, keep your eyes focused on Jesus and His Mission, and keep moving forward in the direction that God wants you to go, this time of discouragement will pass.  Don’t make any rash decisions during this time.  Learn from them.  Grow from them.  But do NOT give up.  God’s mission here on earth is far too important to quit.  God knows you aren’t perfect (see 2 Cor. 4:7) and still you are His plan. 

So keep going!  Don’t quit!  And just wait and see where God takes you next.

- A

“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” 2 Corinthians 4:7  

Are you Authentic in Your Disobedience?

 As we continue our series in Jonah this week we come to the place in the story where God hurls a great storm upon the sea.  The crew of the ship are doing everything they can to rescue their boat, and their lives.  This is no natural tempest the captain begins to realize.  This is something entirely different – something otherworldly.  Someone on board is the cause of all this, and he was going to find out who and why.  

            When the captain descended to the darkest interior of the ship he found the slumbering Jonah wrapped in a warm blanket.  “How can you sleep through all this?” the captain demanded.  “Get up now and pray to your God, maybe he can help us.” 

            But as if to demonstrate the very meaning of irony, the prophet, called to be the voice of God, was silent, even as the sea roared all the louder.  So the sailors, who had now abandoned every natural means of saving themselves, gathered down below and cast lots in hopes of divining the cause of their troubles.  The lot, as we all know, fell on Jonah.

            Every eye gazed upon the one who was causing him such grief.  “Who are you?  What do you do for a living?  Where do you come from?  Who are your people?” they all demand at once.

            “I am a Hebrew,” Jonah calmly replied.  And in a second act of unashamed irony declared, “I fear YHWH, God of heaven who made the sea and the land.”

            In Hebrew the word yare can be translated “to fear,” like when Jonah says, “I fear YHWH, God of heaven.  The word yare can also be translated “to worship.”  A point which I suspect the author of Jonah wanted us to recognize, as we can also read Jonah’s declaration as, “I worship YHWH, God of heaven.”  In either case we question the truth of Jonah’s declaration. 

            Does he truly fear God?  Does he truly worship God?

             If he did, he would be obedient, wouldn’t he? If he did he would pray and save himself and his fellow travelers.  If he did he would not lie sleeping while the storm threatened to sink the ship. 

            It is easy to judge Jonah here.  But then again, how many times have I declared myself a Christian (a Christ One) or a follower of Jesus, and then acted in obviously contradictory ways?  How many times have I worshiped on a Sunday morning, declaring God’s praises in bold ways, and then left the building only to gossip about someone at church, or get angry at a jerk on the highway, or lose my temper with my son?  And then there is disobedience that is too personal to share in a blog.

            Let’s be honest, our Christian lives are full of contradiction.  Let’s not excuse it, but let us not pretend it isn’t there, either.  I want to own that contradiction, recognize it, name it, and then seek each and every day to bring what I say I believe in line with the way I live it out. 

For I am a Christian.  I fear and worship YHWH, God of heaven who made the sea and the land.

-A

www.knoxmidland.ca

Are you running from God?

This week we begin a five week series about a guy who ran from God.   Jonah wasn’t the first to run away from God and he won’t be the last.  I’ll bet some of you can relate. I know I can.  Of course none of us have been charged with the task of conveying a message of judgment against another nation.   

That doesn’t really happen anymore… I don’t think. 

But sometimes you’re doing life, walking along, minding your own business and God tells you to do something.  And you couldn’t really say how you knew, but you knew, and that’s all that mattered. 

And this thing God is telling you to do is scary, outside of your comfort zone.  And you don’t want to do it.  But God says, “My roof, my rules.”  And you have a choice to make:  Do you do it, or not? 

So... do you do it?  Or not?

The answer to that question makes a big difference. 

-A

 

www.knoxmidland.ca