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You don’t want to hear this. You want an answer – you want to find your ministry – but you don’t want to hear this answer.
Many Christians try to feel contented in the subtle serving they do. They dust or sweep or something. But in their gut, they want more. They want to find their true calling. They want to know their life purpose. They want to get into the real ministry.
Is that you? It’s me for sure.
We’re concerned about where our calling is. If we don’t feel involved in an astounding project for the Lord, we wonder if God’s in it. Even if we are involved in a ministry, you and I often doubt God’s guidance. Did He really call me here? Did He really have this planned? Or did God move on?
I’m in that position all the time. Especially when times are tough, I wonder where my real ministry is. I want to serve the world, but I don’t know where to start. Most importantly, I want to get past this trivial slave stuff and dive into the mounting moving.
Are you there too?
Here’s where the difficult answer comes in. Are you ready for it?
“But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in fastings…” -2 Corinthians 6:4-5
Eeeek! Doesn’t sound like fun.
The places where God wants us to minister are the places we want to avoid.
Look for them:
1. “In much patience”: When do you find you need the most patience?
2. “In tribulations”: Where are you most oppressed?
3. “In needs”: When are you in the most need?
4. “In distresses”: When do you feel most distressed?
5. “In stripes”: Where are you beaten and punished?
6. “In imprisonments”: Where are you ostracized by others?
7. “In tumults”: Where is your life most chaotic?
8. “In labors”: Where do you have to work the hardest to survive?
9. “In sleeplessness”: When do you lose sleep?
10 “In fastings”: When do you have to go without?
I don’t think this is just saying we will have these difficulties in our ministries. I think it goes further than that. I think it’s saying we can find our ministries by actively pursuing these difficulties.
You and I find our ministries when we purposely move into the places where we experience the most pain, the most discomfort, and the most dependence.
This doesn’t mean we’re pain lovers. We’re not masochists. We find our ministries in the most difficult places because in those places we recognize our intense need for Christ.
Otherwise, we’re tempted to work alone. When we’re living easy, you and I think we have life in control. On the other hand, when you and I are out there dying, we’re not tempted to work alone. We can’t. We’re scraping for all the help we can find.
In dangerous places, we’re forced to depend on God. And that’s when God works through us.
You want to serve others? Find the place where it’s most difficult – start serving from there.
Serving Suggestions:
(1) Get out a piece of paper and list the areas of your life where you feel the most discomfort. Come up with at least 20 items. This won’t be easy. Some pain runs deep. Write it down anyway.
(2) Now review your list. I guarantee that at least one presents an opportunity for your ministry. What are you scared to do? That might be exactly where God wants you to work.
(3) If you run through this exercise and find you’re already in that difficult position, don’t automatically assume God’s left you. If you’re hurting, if you’re calling out to Jesus, you’re probably right where He wants you.
Twitter Updates
This is so true! My first week as a missionary I almost quit because I had an incident that left me saying, “Dude, this is NOT what I signed up for. I am so out of here.” Looking back on it I see it was exactly what I signed up for I just didn’t think it though, but God did. I’m glad I finished my commitment, especially when things got tough. You learn so much when God makes you “fly without a net” and you trust it.
Amen to that, Sarah. So often we’re looking for some perfect, amazing, grandiose (I like that word) plan. God has that for us, but it’s usually not what we expect.
I like what you said about flying without a net. God wants to totally be our net… 1st and 2rd of the Ten Commandments.
-Marshall Jones Jr.
This is a nice post!
When you said “get past this trivial slave stuff and dive into the mountain movin” I almost shouted “Preach!” It made me realize that real power isn’t in the “great” stuff but in the “everyday” things.
Isn’t that the truth! The hardest part about doing anything is the small stuff. At least that’s the way it is for me. It’s like doing accounting work (no offense to any accountants out there) or filling out any forms or sweeping floors. It’s not always difficult in the technical sense, but it’s taxing (no pun intended) because of the tediousness of it.
Which is why I’m such a proponent of encouragement. Encouragement is what we need, the encouragement to follow through with what we already know we should do. Information, the high-level, how-to strategy, is cheap… thank you, Internet. Encouragement, though, is still scarce.
-Marshall Jones Jr.
This is how I ended up in Germany and Poland two years ago, which turned out to be one of the best experiences of my life. Up until the day I signed up for the trip, I had no interest in anything German. I was all about my culture. My pastor didn’t understand why I wanted to go to a country on missions with complete strangers, to a country that spoke a language I did not speak. But I stepped out of my comfort zone and God did amazing things in my life there. I still go back to notes I took while over there and reflect on amazing things God taught me.
Wow, you and Sarah both… and probably the rest of us too (definitely me too). “Stepping out of our comfort zone” is so cliche… not because it’s lame, but because we repeat it over and over again without any action to back it up and show how important it really is.
Thanks for uncliche-ifying it with your story, Amanda.
-Marshall Jones Jr.
Great points here Marshall. I’m certainly guilty of seeking a grand hope or desire to serve over the last few years and I must say that the Lord has challenged me with patience to get over that selfish aspect of my desire and start to see where I can serve the Lord in everything I do instead. I can say that I have learned a lot in this test and patience has been the best thing I’ve learned where I feel much more able to see where I am needed. I’m sure there are many layers to those blinders however so I can open my heart and mind to more discovery as He reveals his plan. Great points and I certainly agree with this from my experience.
Thanks, Mike. I think we’re all guilty of this. Assuming away any selfishness for a moment, it seems like it’s still the natural reaction to all the blessings we’ve received. We want to give back in a big way.
Like you said, though, it takes a lot of patience and trust in God’s plan to recognize that our success is measured in our obedience to God, not our results for Him. After all, He already has the results under control whether we follow or not.
-Marshall Jones Jr.