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!