iShineInMinistry

Nehemiah 8:10 Then he said to them…Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

Do you love the sound of children singing worship songs as they dance around a room? Is your idea of a great time cooking up your favorite dish in preparation for a potluck? Is decorating the chapel with your volunteer committee enough to make you boil over with excitement?

Did you say yes to any of these questions? I hope that one of the questions (or something similar) resonated with you as you serve in full-time ministry. There are so many different parts of working at a church that are completely different from any other job in the world. It is so much fun and a great way to spend your days. However, if you are a ‘lifer’ you may start to get into a place where this just seems like the ‘same old, same old’ with each passing year. You may even begin to dread some of the different things that make ministry such a blessing.

In those moments where you feel more drained than joyful, we need to really seek the Lord and ask Him to help us to see the situation clearly. We may get to a place where we are becoming perpetual Marthas and never choosing the better thing. We need to have the heart of both ladies, where we serve willingly, but also take the time to regroup and get refilled with Jesus. If we are not careful, nothing will feel joyful and everything will just feel like something that needs to be crossed off a ‘to-do’ list.

Make sure to take a heart inventory often to make sure that you are:

1) Serving joyfully and not in your own strength

2) Getting rest that is needed after you have been doing many things

3) Being ‘re-filled’ with God’s word through teaching, personal devotional time, prayer and attending worship services

We do not ever want to run the risk of being sorrowful as we are doing what God has called us to do. Let God show us what is needed as we serve Him so that we continue to be joyful.

Do you feel worn down as you serve? Are you joyful as the Lord shows you opportunities to serve? Are you a little of both? See if you are doing the three things listed above.

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?

Nehemiah 8:10 …Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

‘Tis the season of fast-paced serving! As you enter into this fantastic time of ministry, please make sure to get rested up, filled up and prayed up. I am praying for you right now and hope that you are blessed as you get ready for all of the amazing things God will do over the next few months!

Lord Jesus, we thank You that You have called us for such a time as this. We thank You for the amazing blessing of serving You and the gracious love that You pour out on us. Thank You for the honor of giving us Spiritual Gifts to use for Your glory. Thank You for this amazing time of outreaches and holidays that are underway, each pointing our hearts to love, thanksgiving, harvest, mercy, love, hope and peace.

I pray that You will help us to serve with gladness, have a heart of grace as minds get busy and frantic and allow each of us to be a blessing to each person we come into contact with. I pray for strength and wisdom for each of these ladies, as You give them vision for the ministries they oversee, as You give them words to speak to the ladies they counsel and as You give them endurance to do all unto Your glory. I pray for supernatural faith that will move mountains and save souls through each prayer prayed, each word spoken and each event that draws people to the saving knowledge of Your son. Please go before these ladies and prepare their hearts for all that You have in store. We love You, trust You and praise Your holy name…in Jesus’ name, Amen!

What are some of the outreaches coming up in your ministry that need to be lifted up in prayer?

Numbers 6:24-26 “The Lord bless you and keep you;

The Lord make His face shine upon you,


And be gracious to you;

The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,


And give you peace.”’

This week, I felt it would be a wonderful idea to pray for all of you fantastic ladies as you diligently serve the Lord with gladness. I know sometimes the work of the ministry may be difficult or you feel at a loss by what God has called you to do; but know you have been called for such a time as this and that I am praying for you. Should you have any prayer requests, you may also leave them on the response board for this posting. Be blessed and stay encouraged.

Lord, I lift up this wonderful woman of God that has answered the call to full-time ministry and ask that You will be her strong tower today. I thank You for her obedience to do the things that You have placed on her heart and ask that You will continue to equip her and strengthen her heart as she trusts You. I pray that You will continue to stir up spiritual gifts and callings, allow her to see You working on her behalf and keep her heart focused on Your truth as You stretch her in this calling and grow her faith. I pray that she will always have a servant’s heart, ready to be a blessing to those she comes into contact with and that You will be her refuge and strength in those times when she is discouraged and feels like she wants to quit. Remind her that You are for her and that You work all things together for good as You have called her to serve You, to worship You in spirit and truth. Minister to her and allow her to have quiet times to listen to Your still, small voice. Allow her to have a heart not encumbered by all the tasks before her, but to fully and completely sit at Your feet, to have a heart like Mary, who chooses the better thing. Refresh her and renew her spirit, protect her from pride, bitterness and give her discernment so that she may continue to walk as an example of a godly woman. Be with her today and each day I ask and pray in Your holy, perfect name, Lord Jesus- Amen!

What area of ministry can you focus on praying for this week? What are the plans you feel God is laying on your heart for that ministry?

James 1:4 (KJV)

But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

I am not good at waiting for things to happen and right now I am about ready to throw a princess tantrum. I'm sure we all have those moments when we begin waiting nicely; but then as time continues to pass and nothing appears to change, we lose heart, get just the tiniest bit annoyed and wonder if God has decided to go to sleep on our boat (see Matthew 8:23-25).

Are you waiting for an answer to a prayer right now? Would you like to see your best friend get saved? Is your job situation making you a little less than joyful? Has that 10 pounds you have diligently tried to get rid of still lingering? There are so many things to wait for, so many reasons to just be over it (in our minds) because things are not going as fast as we hoped they would, but please do not give up yet.

The process of getting from point A to point B gives us so much insight on how the Lord is molding us into the women of God He plans for us to be. Those moments when all we want to do is go to sleep, eat a pint of mint chip ice cream or be done with our calling just happen to be pinnacle moments. We can choose to faint not and look for the things He is trying to show us. We can cry out to Him and ask for help and comfort. We can praise Him after we get that princess tantrum out of our system. He knows our thoughts, pains, joys and desires anyway, so we need not think He has no idea what we are thinking when we are sick of the situation we stand before.

Take some time alone with the Lord to let Him know that you need His help, wisdom, discernment, guidance and more faith to trust Him as you feel ready to give up and move on to something easier. He will help you let patience have its most perfect work, so you will not miss out on the amazing things He wants to show you through this process (and bless you abundantly once you get to the finish line of this season). Listen for His still small voice to direct your heart and your path. Let Him be your hope and strength. Do not be 'over it' yet...God is doing a work and you don't want to miss the finished product of it all!

Jeremiah 33:2-3 (NKJV)

“Thus says the Lord who made it, the Lord who formed it to establish it the Lord is His name: ‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’

What season in life are you 'over' right now? Will you cling to Jesus and trust His plans for your life? Will you allow Him to show you great and mighty things during this process?

2 Corinthians 3:18 (NKJV)

18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.