iShineInMinistry

Psalm 27:14 NKJV

Wait on the Lord;

Be of good courage,

And He shall strengthen your heart;

Wait, I say, on the Lord

Ministry has ebbs and flows in every season where sometimes things look amazingly fruitful and other times it appears as if God may be at a standstill. We go through each of these moments and know that God is working whether or not we see it; but I wonder how many times we try to make something fit into a time-table or a “master plan” of our own rather than letting God do the entire work the way He intended and in the timing that He purposed. Do we sometimes force people into ‘holiness’ when that godly wisdom just doesn’t click in their heart and mind? Can we sometimes coerce a lady into going through the motions just so it looks like that particular work is occurring in their lives? Can we only spend time with the teen girls that ‘get it’ because in our mind keeping them on display allows people to see how “great we are at doing ministry”?

These are hard questions to ask ourselves, but the truth is we have to ask them…and often! God has placed us in areas of leadership and we need to make sure that we are humbly doing the calling that He has placed us in no matter what it looks like. Even if the lady we have been ministering to keeps having the same struggle and legitimately is struggling, we cannot just throw our hands in the air and say, “Can I get a better disciple that does what I tell them?” We have to check our hearts in those moments and make sure that what our heart isn’t really asking is, “Can’t I get someone that is all perfect and sweet and makes my ministry look amazing because only good things happen all the time?” This is two things –

1) Not realistic- We are human and we are sinners by nature. If this concept where feasible, there would be no need for a savior in the first place!

2) Not gracious- We need to remember that at a point in time (and probably still today) someone was also pouring into us, possibly thinking the same exact thing we are thinking about the ladies we minister to. Are we so glad that the lady that decided to take us by the hand did not just throw her hands in the air and walk away?

Jesus did not just throw His hands up in the air either. He willing let his hands (via wrists) be nailed to a cross, knowing that we would still blow it sometimes…even as ministry leaders! Let us all remember that God is the one doing the work in someone’s life so He gets to decide when that ‘light bulb’ is going to click on. We do not have to force God’s will for someone else’s life; He already has it under control!

James 1:4

But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

Please continue to pray for that young girl, young adult, widow, single woman, divorced woman, new mom or any other person that you are currently ministering to. Remember God knows what He is doing in their life and in their heart!

1 Thessalonians 5:11 Therefore comfort each other and edify one another…

Have you ever read a devotional or a book that just jump-started your heart for some new kind of ministry (or a modification of the current ministry where you serve)? Do you get all excited and edge of your seat jumpy when you think about the amazing things God can do through this 'new thing' He has revealed to you? Do you start making a game plan, praying continuously and also putting all those Spiritual Gifts in motion to use for His glory? When someone else approaches you and says some new amazing thing has captured their heart (quite in the same way your new thing has captured yours), do you encourage them and come alongside them in the new, amazing thing God has shown them?

I know that in ministry we always get the opportunity to encourage someone in the new, fun things that God is revealing to them, while also making sure to help steer them in the right direction biblically and help them to sort through all of the new ideas and thoughts coming their way. We need to be so very careful in these times too. As we mean well in being a help, we may sometimes become critical or give not so pleasant exhortations about how to proceed. We want to make sure to help the person be discerning and really understand what God is showing them, yet at the same time admonish them with kind words, scripture and prayer too…especially prayer!

The blessing of being in ministry is getting to see someone raised up through discipleship to do the things that God has placed in their heart. We as servants sometimes get to be part of God's plan in this. Let us all make sure to be those women that come alongside in love and also remember those wonderful women that came alongside us when we first began in ministry. How kind, gentle, gracious and honest they were with us...let us all make sure to be that type of woman to those ladies who are being stirred for ministry. 2

Timothy 2:24 And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient,

Is there someone that you are discipling that has a vision for a new ministry? How are you being an encouragement?

1 Peter 3:8-9

Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing.

Ministry is such a blessing and working in full-time ministry, whether at a church, organization or as a missionary is full of joy and surprises. One of those surprises is the fun of working with multiple personalities on a project or outreach. We all have different ways that we process information, execute tasks and organize things. This is when we truly get to see the body working together for God’s glory. We do need to keep in mind to have hearts of grace and kindness as long hours and mixed personalities could potentially give the enemy an opportunity to get in the mix of plans; a guarded mind that is discerning of these things can help all aspects of ministry go seamless if we let them.

The scripture above gives us some insight as to what attributes we need to possess as we serve. We need to be of one mind, which means that we value each other and everyone’s ideas, rather than just wanting things our way. We need to be compassionate and courteous; you have a certain Spiritual Gift and someone else has another, so we can’t deem ourselves more valuable because we think our gifts are more functional than others. Each person in the ministry is needed and God placed each lady in that ministry for a reason.

When personalities begin to clash and a little ‘flesh’ starts to rear its ugly head, we need to not return catty comments to each other if someone starts being negative. We need to be the example of grace and help redirect attitudes that may be heading in the wrong direction. Remember, we are all called for such a time as this, for this ministry, for the purpose of serving others and we need to make that truth our main priority as we worship the Lord in this specific area of our lives.

We are called to ministry and we are called to be examples, to be lights and to be godly women. Let us always make sure that our hearts stay on track and that we serve in kindness, humility and selflessness. It is so much fun to do ministry together, so let us always remember how blessed we are for having this calling!

Esther 4:14- Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

Are you bumping heads with someone that you serve with in ministry?  Are you exhibiting the characteristics listed in 1 Peter 3:8? Ask God to search your heart and then see what He shows you!

Romans 12:3: For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think…

Do you ever get frustrated when you are at church, trying to get a task done and one of the volunteers stops you in your tracks because you are attempting to enter a “restricted area”? They are doing their duty in the ministry they serve in by making sure that people are not just wandering about, but you are on staff and can be in that area. As you sweetly tell them you are on staff, do you get a little irritated and think to yourself, “Don’t you know who I am?” Of course you are allowed in those places, but they may not know it.

Do you sometimes think that teachings don’t need to be taken to heart when they have a heavily convicting message since you are already on staff at church and considered a leader? Do you not really listen to some of the wiser ladies on staff as they kindly try to show you things because you are ‘just as important’ as they are?

Have you just said no to all of these questions and do not really want to admit that we are all sometimes prideful because of the position that God has so graciously allowed us to serve in? Let’s have a little heart check!

Philippians 2:3-8 (ESV)

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

First off, we must remember that we are serving the Lord as leaders- we are not elite. We are being obedient and exercising our spiritual gifts; however, we are still sinners that have been saved by grace that can do nothing apart from the Lord just like the people we minister to. Sometimes we just need to get over ourselves- ha!

Second, we can easily be replaced and someone else can be raised up to do the work of the ministry. God can do just as much, or possibly more with another obedient heart…especially if we do not stay humble. We know that we have a certain personality that is a blessing to the women we minister to, but there are so many ladies that have the ability to meet someone where they are at just like we can. We have to be mindful of the fact that God is very much able to work through any person that says yes to the call of godly service, not only us.

Lastly, this is a privilege and an honor. We sometimes start to indirectly have the mindset that we are doing God a favor by allowing Him to use our ‘fabulous selves’. We need to be thankful everyday, let those volunteers do their job and be kind to them even when they don’t know us. W should be gracious and teachable in every moment so that other godly woman can help us continue to grow as we walk in faith and serve in spirit and truth. We should ask God to continually search our hearts…and when He reveals something, fix it! We must not dismiss or try to talk our way out allowing God to help us in that particular area we need to work on because we have enough ‘good things’ that balance out to make the other heart issue insignificant in our eyes. We are all works in progress so let us continue to let God do the work He started in us.

We have not arrived…we have answered the call to serve. Let us be humble, kind, loving and faithful examples of what it truly means to serve the Lord. Our ultimate desire is to be please the Lord, not our image or egos, so let us all be mindful of this as we serve.  Hearts and Hugs!

Are you serving and getting a little puffed up because God is using you so mightily? Please be careful and also allow someone to help hold you accountable. Pride always comes before the fall and we never want to be in that place as women in leadership.

Psalm 42:5 (NKJV)

Why are you cast down, O my soul?

And why are you disquieted within me?

Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him

For the help of His countenance.

I know that we typically do not want to admit these moments, where our minds begin to ‘out-logic’ the truth of God’s faithfulness; but we must be honest in those times where so many things are going on that seem beyond all control. We feel like it is so difficult when everything around us looks like nothing could possibly change. The truth of the matter is that God is still in control, He still rules and reigns; He still makes all things work together for good. We know this practically, but when we are counseling that lady, encouraging that struggling high school girl, or helping that newlywed fully understand the new season of life she is in, sometimes situations seem so far out of our reach that we put God in a box and think He sees the problem in the same small frame that we view it.

Those times of fretting make us forget that God is in control of each and every detail of our lives and the lives of those that we get to serve in ministry. Why do we allow our finite understanding to make us feel like situations are completely beyond anyone’s control? God is not confined by the limitations that we as humans have; moreover, God is gracious enough to do a work and show us how able He is to make the impossible happen. If that were not enough, the Lord even lets us be part of the beautiful miracles that happen as He does a work in those desperate situations.

We need to remember the truth of how big the God we serve is in those moments where the situation looks beyond repair. Let us all put our ‘big girl pants’ on, start fervently praying and wait for God to move in those hopeless moments. Let us hope in God and praise Him in the middle of that myriad of life’s troubles that cloud over the ones we minister to. God is working it all together and we need only trust in His truth, love and timing while we diligently serve Him by helping those He places in front of us.

Psalm 28:7

The Lord is my strength and my shield;

My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped;

Therefore my heart greatly rejoices,

And with my song I will praise Him.

Are you ministering to someone whose situation seems hopeless? Are you covering that situation in prayer and trusting God for the impossible? Remember that God is sovereign!