Yesterday I exposed some of the pains of ministry in, When Ministry Hurts.
SO- for those of us who have been called to serve, in whatever package that comes in, what do we when ministry hurts? That hurt causes me to recoil into my hiding place and resist giving more of myself. Is that OK? Is God OK with me giving up?
I will let him answer that himself.
Before I knew my Lord, he called me. He equipped me.
And why have I called you for this work? Why did I call you by name when you did not know me? I am the Lord; there is no other God. I have equipped you for battle, though you don’t even know me. Is. 45:4-5
It’s not about me. The results aren’t up to me.
Then go to your people in exile and say to them, “This is what the Sovereign Lord says! ” Do this whether they listen to you or not. Ezk. 3:11
We are only God’s servants through whom you believed the Good News. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us. I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow. 1 Cor. 3:5-7
Jesus suffered.
Jesus began to tell his disciples plainly that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem, and that he would suffer many terrible things… He would be killed. Mt. 16:21
To be his, I must suffer too.
Jesus told them, “You will indeed drink from my bitter cup and be baptized with my baptism of suffering. Mark 10:39
I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead! Phil 3:10-11
What do I do when ministry hurts? I have to keep eternity in perspective. Even though God called me to this work, it’s still not about me. It is about him. Because he, in his divinity, suffered at the hands of men, so will I. And I’m no where close that.
