It is never easy news to hear. Someone I loved, someone I respected, someone I worked beside in the kingdom, drops the cross and leaves the faith.
Women who once served God and served his church are packing it in and leaving, not just the church, not just their husbands, but Jesus. They are trading in the picket fence, fish bowl life for one that provides less volatility.
If you are in ministry and you feel your faith weakening or you love someone who is working in the kingdom who is struggling to stay afloat, this is for you.
I know how you feel.
They don’t come often, but when they do they hit hard- those seasons of distress, of church conflict, of unresolved sin that makes me want to pack up and run for the hills.
I have had those moments that I wanted it to just be me and God again. I don’t want to serve anymore. I don’t want to love anymore. I don’t want to forgive anymore.
Then…
Jesus asks, “Do you love me?”
When they finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these other men love me?”
Peter answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Then Jesus said to him, “Take care of my lambs.”
Again Jesus said to him, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
Peter answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Then Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”
A third time Jesus said, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was sad because Jesus asked him three times, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you!”
Jesus said to him, “Take care of my sheep.” (From John 21)
Just like he said to Peter, he says to me, “Do you love me?”
I say, “Yes, Lord! Of course I love you.”
He says, “Then how can you leave them? Consider the damage you will do to the weak ones. They have a hard time seeing me. They are struggling to hear me. That is why I gave them you. If you love me, feed my sheep.”
Get away
But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer. Luke 5:16
The Lord we serve, who was deity, sought restoration in his mortality on a regular basis. We are mortal. We need to have regular, scheduled times of reprieve. We need to honor those times and respect our limitations.
Intentional Prayer
Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray. Mark 1:35
I usually pray when I’m stressed, when I am grieved or when I happen to have a moment alone. I rarely schedule intentional time to pray. And I have never set my alarm to get up and pray. But Jesus did. And he was God!
I keep asking myself, “Why did he get up early to pray?” I’d keep coming back to the fact that if it was good enough for him it should be good enough for me.
Find a confidant
After David had finished talking with Saul, he met Jonathan, the king’s son. There was an immediate bond between them, for Jonathan loved David…And Jonathan made a solemn pact with David, because he loved him as he loved himself. Jonathan sealed the pact… (From 1 Sam 18)
Seal a pact with someone who will keep your secrets and bear your burdens. That person must be outside your local church to insure privacy and proper boundaries. Allow your confidant to listen, refresh and to love you.
Biblical perspective
Sharing the gospel and suffering are proportionally joined.
I am glad when I suffer for you in my body, for I am participating in the sufferings of Christ that continue for his body, the church. God has given me the responsibility of serving his church by proclaiming his entire message to you. This message was kept secret for centuries and generations past, but now it has been revealed to God’s people. For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.
So we tell others about Christ, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We want to present them to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ. That’s why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me. (From Col. 1)
See also Behind the Smile: 6 Things Every Church Should Know About the Preacher’s Wife
