Tag: ministry

Burned By Deep Ministry Hurts

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As we drove last summer toward a hidden lake among the mountains of Northern Colorado there was the beauty of the forest surrounding us. Tall dark green pine trees on both sides of the road clinging to the sides of the mountains. It was a magnificent sight to see until we came into vast expanses of burned pine trees standing up from the ground like toothpicks. The evidence of forest fires from previous years went on for miles. The ground was also littered with fallen trees that had slid down the mountains and hills, making the beauty of the landscape dissipate to a very disturbing sight.

Burned Trees Collage

Trapper’s Lake

A few minutes into our hike I noticed patches of trees that had been saved from the forest fires, but all around them stood the skeletons of the forest. The burned trees stood as monuments of a life that once was vibrant and full of its God-given purpose. New grass had begun to grow around the burned remains of trees, some vines and flowers had grown around them, but the remains looked unbecoming in the landscape of the hidden lake.

I took pictures because in my heart I knew I would write about being burned in the ministry. As much as I hated to see the evidence of the trials of that particular forest, it was beautiful to see the lush grass and wildflowers blooming with insects finding their way around to pollinate the other flowers. Life was returning but the scars stood as evidence of the hurt.

I realize as many of you read this that I am not a seasoned veteran of the ministry and probably  burns and hurts will come to our lives that I do not even wish to think of or imagine. I had a deep ministry hurt occur as I served as a secretary in our church when I was single. It took me many years to forgive the particular person involved, and I had to deal with the roots of bitterness I had in my heart toward them over and over. It does still hurt to think about, but the thoughts do not control me anymore, because the Lord continued to teach me about forgiveness.

Ministry hurts shake you to the core and sometimes leave you lifeless like a burned pine tree. It messes with your mind, it creates doubt in your heart toward people, and it may even leave you with questions about whether God really cares. While I have recovered and new blooms have also come into my life and our current ministry, I still remember what it was like.  I hope this article will give you some good helps on what you can do to help yourself or someone else that has been burned by the ministry.

1. Acknowledge the hurt and talk to God about it.

Each life situation goes across God’s sacred desk before He approves it or allows it. He knows about the hurt you are thinking of now. The people and situations that have caused it and the disappointment and betrayal you may be feeling. Be honest when you speak to God about them, you don’t have to question Him or be angry with Him. In humble acknowledgement you can go to Him as a child goes to His father and tells him the problems, doubts, and fears he has.

The gospel song says it all when it says, “When you don’t feel like praying pray.” You may not feel like it, you may not want to, but you should do it anyway.

2. When your thoughts go a mile a minute in every direction from the temptation to exact vengeance upon someone to utter despair, think of God.

This verse in particular spoke to my heart during one of my hardest trials.

In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul. Psalm 94:19

While others may be against us and the reality of the hurt may set in, we must ALWAYS find comfort in the Lord. All other worldly comforts, gossip, backbiting, drinking alcohol, abusing pain medications, forsaking our immediate family members are not the cure. Our comfort must come from God alone.

3. Allow yourself time to heal from the burns.

The grass in the forest did not begin to grow again in the forest until time had passed after the forest fire. Sometimes after significant ministry problems we expect (and other people expect) that we should bounce back to our original self and be ready to fight the good fight of faith with vigor and resilience. This is not realistic for someone who has been wounded deeply.

Think of Elijah the prophet, this story is very different in many ways from the purpose of this post, but I think the love in which God ministered to him is an example of how He cares for us when are hurt by the ministry.

I Kings 19: 5-8 And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat. And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again. And the angel of the Lord came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee. And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God.

God ministered to Elijah through the angel. I believe God sends special gifts of blessings in our hurts to help us recuperate and gain our strength again. But it takes some time. We may not be able to take a break from ministry during these times but we should be resting on days where we can and allowing God to minister to our hearts.

4. Take care of your daily personal needs. 

One of the hardest things about deep hurts is that our body can manifest the pain in many ways from anxiety to depression to an unsettled sadness or burning in your chest. Your teeth may itch or you may suddenly burst into tears. Take care of your health, mind, and spirit during these times so that the physical manifestations of your stress will subside.

Eat healthy foods regularly, take naps and get to bed on time, get up and bathe and put on clean clothes. When we are in the initial response from burns and hurts in our lives we sometimes go into shock and even the simplest tasks go undone. When you will get yourself up and ready for the day and carry on with normal activities, it will help you heal faster.

5. Take Care of Your Spiritual Needs

I mentioned earlier that taking care of your thoughts and mind is comforting yourself with God’s blessings.

The spiritual man inside of us when burned needs special attention. We still need to read our Bible, seek out God’s answers, and go to the Balm of Gilead to allow Him to heal our hearts. When He speaks we should respond correctly. The book of Psalms can be especially helpful to read during hard times.

Putting off necessary steps of healing, such as making things right with the person that caused the pain, can be difficult. Disobeying God’s promptings will prolong the hurt. Every situation for every person is different, we must be obedient to what He tells us to do. It may be committing to pray for the people involved, doing something nice for them (even if they don’t deserve it), or making a decision to not load our spouse down with talking about the situation all the time. You will know when God speaks to your heart.

Conclusion

I will never tell you that the burns of ministry are easy, that you should be this or do that by a specific time period. There should be a time of healing and recovery in your life, these times and situations may redefine your life but should not redefine your standing with the Lord. There is a future and a plan He has for us. After we are healed our job is to help others when they are going through their own hurts.

The next article on this topic will be Healing From Deep Ministry Hurts.

The Difference Between Resting & Quitting

The Difference Between Resting and Quitting

Quitting isn’t always for losers, it is usually the sign of a weary or worldly soldier of Christ. There is a definite difference between quitting and resting. One of the first things that comes to my mind when I think of this topic is a note that someone wrote to a pastor friend in the yearbook when he graduated with his Master’s degree. The last line of the note said, “Remember, sometimes you must rest a while, but just don’t quit.” Even years later I remember that one line. God has used it to help me, and I pray He will also use it to help you.

Let’s take a look at some Bible quitters:

  • Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world. (2 Timothy 4:10)
  • John Mark left his work at some point in his ministry and the apostle Paul was so frustrated that he was not willing to take him along with him again in Acts 15.
  • All of the disciples forsook Christ and fled when Christ was arrested. (Mark 14:50)

But before we judge too harshly, let’s admit that the thought has probably crossed our mind once or twice, or really maybe on some days once or twice an hour.

Quitting for the wrong reasons usually involves one or more of the following:

  1. Not allowing God’s Word to be the greatest influence in your life.
  2. Forsaking godly counsel.
  3. Walking away from a commitment or vow you made to the Lord.
  4. Listening to and believing lies Satan whispers to you about God and His work.
  5. A love for the things of the world, rather than heavenly things.
  6. Lust and covetousness.
  7. Disregarding the Holy Spirit’s convictions and God’s warning signs keeping you from quitting.
  8. An attitude of ungratefulness.
  9. Selfish motives.
  10. Following men rather than God.
  11. Accepting praise that belongs to God alone.
  12. Looking at people instead of the Heavenly Father.
  13. Unforgiveness and bitterness.
  14. Blocking your ears and heart from hearing Christ-centered preaching.
  15. Lowering your Biblical standards and substituting them with worldly practices.
  16. Replacing godly friends with friends that have lower standards and values.
  17. Discontentment with your current ministry and comparison with other ministries.
  18. Stiffening your neck and being disobedient.

Quitting does not usually happen over night without some warning signs. Almost all of us have seen someone slowly slip away. People, even those in ministry, do not normally jump off ship and run away to the Bahamas with a hot babe that isn’t their spouse in a day.

Satan and the flesh can work against you if you let it and before you know it you can be just a statistic or a vessel set on the shelf by God with no earthly use because you have laid down your sword and abandon the call of God on your life and quit.

The responsibility and accountability are up to us. We must see these warning signs creeping up in our lives and not allow the temptation to quit on God, our family, and our ministry become thoughts we dwell on.

So, if you’re weary and you’re tired and you realize that you just feel so overwhelmed because your ministry is not doing what you think it should when you think it should, then REST!

Resting for the right reasons usually involves:

  1. A temporary time of recharge.
  2. The Holy Spirit’s call and moving.
  3. Changes (small or large) to restore the relationships in your family.
  4. More time to be able to seek God’s perfect will for your life.
  5. Bible reading and searching for God’s answers.
  6. More prayer.
  7. Godly counsel and advice from trusted friends and mentors.
  8. Serving God without large amounts of responsibility.
  9. Quality time with your family.
  10. Listening to Christ-centered preaching and music.
  11. Vacation!!
  12. Purposeful planning for the future including ministry plans and other family-oriented plans.
  13. Unplugging from ministerial responsibility and pursuing hobbies and other things you enjoy.
  14. Reconnecting with other ministry friends and sharpening one another through good encouraging communication. (Call or visit them!)

God did all of His work in the work of Creation and guess what!? HE RESTED!! There is no shame in taking a break or even a nap! While we know that some people may need a longer period of rest than others, we should be understanding and encouraging to them during that time.

Go to God for your rest, it is one of the many benefits to being a Christian.

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Matthew 11:28-30

Rest will do your body, soul, and spirit good! Just do it! It’s better than the alternative!

P.S. Later in scripture John Mark was counted worthy again by call for the work of the ministry. (2 Timothy 4:11) So, even if you have quit, you may not be able to be restored to the position you once had, but God can still use your life!

Taking Time for Bartimaeus

Jesus is leaving the town of Jericho with his disciples and other people following Him. As they are walking along the highway a blind man starts crying out “Jesus, Son of David! Have mercy on me!! Jesus! Have mercy on me!”

Many of the followers were very familiar with Bartimaeus. He had sat in the same place for years begging money from people as they passed by so they immediately began to try to force him to be quiet. They were familiar with his ratty hair and dirty clothes, how he held his hands out begging for money in the same way each time they passed him. His eyes were a distant light blue that could not focus on anything but just looked in the general direction of what he could hear was coming his way. The crowd assumed Jesus would not want to have anything to do with him.

One man yelled, “Shut your mouth old man!” Another man walked over to him, glared at him and in a hushed tone said, “Be quiet, he doesn’t have time for you.”

The crowd trying to get him to be quiet only motivated him yell out to Jesus louder,”Thou Son of David have mercy on me!”

Jesus heard him and asked the people to bring Bartimaeus to Him.

A kind person came to him and said “Be of good comfort, rise, he calleth thee.” The kind person assured him that it was alright to go to Jesus when others had discouraged him. The crowd parted and they watched along with the disciples as he held on to the person that brought him to Christ. He stood before Christ, with his glazed eyes looking only in the direction of His voice.

Jesus said, “What would you like me to do for you?”

Bartimaeus immediately replied, “Lord, I want to receive my sight.”He confessed his heart’s greatest desire to the only One that could help him.

Kindly Jesus responded, “Go thy way, thy faith hath made thee whole.” “Because you believe in me, you’re healed.”

Bartimaeus was healed and healed completely! In one instant his sight was healed, he was no longer dependent upon the help of others to assist him through every day life. He no longer had to sit along the side of the road or ask for assistance to walk like he had for years. This was probably the best day of his life! His physical and spiritual eyes were opened on the same day. He would no longer have to grope around in the darkness of life or the darkness of his sin. He was a new creature both inside and out.

Jesus instructed him to go his own way, but he did not obey. The miracle Christ performed obligated him to follow Jesus with the rest of his disciples. (Mark 10:46-52) He followed with revived senses, the great and wonderful Saviour!

My heart is touched by this account of a real event, a real person that Jesus our Savior changed.

Notice two different kinds of people in the group following Christ that day, the ones telling Bartimaeus to be quiet, and the one that comforted him and lead him to where Jesus was. Which one are you?

Bartimaeus is a representative of all those people we consider rejects in our society: The person that doesn’t fit in, that does things awkwardly outside of the acceptable box of right actions. He represents the people in the world that are hard to love because they are different.

  • He’s the man who stands outside on summer days with a cardboard sign that we avoid eye contact with as we approach the stop light.
  • He’s the strange person that bags your groceries and pushes the cart out to your car and makes weird comments.
  • He’s the short person at school that keeps to himself, eats nothing in the school cafeteria, and makes comments about hating everyone around him.
  • He’s the person with fuzzy teeth and greasy hair that constantly laughs at their own jokes, hoping to be accepted.
  • The foreigner that has made desperate attempts to understand the culture and still cannot figure out how to say the words correctly or understand the lingo in order to rightly converse with people.
  • The senior citizen that has a gripe about everything and won’t let anyone have their own opinions.
  • The furious co-workers angered at each situation throughout the work day.
  • He is any other person that we might not see as acceptable to spend time with or worth investing in.

Did you notice what Jesus did? He heard that man’s cries and He took time apart to listen to his needs and help him.

Even though people were trying to keep Bartimaeus from crying out he could not be stopped from yelling more loudly. Jesus did not ignore the cries even as they shifted into a more desperate attempt to reach Him. He stopped specifically for Bartimaeus.

The word Christian means “little Christ.” We only become a true Biblical Christian after we’ve accepted Him as our Savior. Then the true test comes!

Are you being like a little Christ in regard to others?

Have you ever taken time for someone who isn’t socially acceptable? or difficult to love?

People are crying out in desperation, perhaps not loudly, but they long for attention. If you took the time to stop and listen to someone’s needs, as Christ did in this actual event that was recorded in His Word, would it lead them to Him for the healing that their soul needs?

They want mercy from someone, anyone that can show them the way to be whole by God’s standards. The world holds people to a standard they are already rejected by. The law of God’s Word holds them to a standard they can not live up to because of their sin.

It would be false for me to say that will not be a difficult task. It sometimes means we must spend time with someone that makes us feel awkward, uncomfortable, and causes us to breathe a sigh of relief when we are finished working with them… when God prompts us to stop for others, we should consider Bartimaeus and the value of his life to Christ.

Think of your value to Christ, how He took the time to seek you out from the crowd and rescue you from  your sin. Ask God to help you find someone who seems socially unacceptable so that you can be a blessing to them. Ask Him to give you the grace to be able to invest what they need so they can know Him as their  Savior or grow in their relationship with Him.

YOU can make a difference in the life of a modern-day Bartimaeus, just do it!