iShineInMinistry

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!