Why? Probably because the event didn't go as planned, volunteers were confused, no one responded to your plea, or people fell asleep during your message. In times like these sometimes you just want to quit.
But before you quit, I want you to do 4 things:
First: Remember, it's not all about you
Do you really want people to think of you as a spiritual rock star: a person who always has the best advice, most powerful messages, or greatest administrative skills? I mean, is this why you're in the ministry in the first place: to have people in awe of you?
No. You're here because you love Jesus; and you love Jesus because He first loved you. You're here to serve other people with that same love. You're here to point others to Him. When you feel let down because of a lack of accolades, remind yourself of this truth: it's never been all about you.
Second: Keep in mind there's always another shot
Grace truly is amazing. Grace is getting what we don't deserve. And while you're out there on the leadership front lines you will have more than a few experiences with failure. Regardless, God will give you grace to give it another shot.
Take your moment of "failure" to reflect instead of retire; imagine making things better instead of getting bitter. You can use the lessons of today to improve the opportunity of tomorrow if you keep in mind there's always another shot with God.
Third: God measures you by faithfulness
Andy Stanley says that people tend to confuse success with the rewards of success. The rewards of success are things like getting a promotion, seeing a lot of decisions made for Christ, or increasing your offering. However, success is simply being faithful to God's calling for your life.
Do you realize that you are a success in God's eyes even without a promotion, great results, or expanding resources if you simply remain faithful to the Lord? God never called you to build a single thing; in fact, He said that He would do all the building Himself. Your job is to just show up. Are you doing that? Remember your faithfulness is how God is measuring your success.
Fourth: The results are always up to the Lord
When teaching John 15, I like to tell people that "you can't force fruit." Fruit just grows. Plant a seed in good soil, expose it to light, water it, and keep it maintained. Fruit will grow.
The same is true for your ministry. You need to learn to trust the process. The key is abiding in Christ. You're being faithful by sowing God's Word and serving Jesus; let the Lord make things grow in His time and His way. He called you to bear fruit and that's what will happen when you leave the results up to God.
So before you quit, think about these 4 truths. And then ask yourself, "Do I really want to throw in the towel right now?" You can, or you can keep the focus on Jesus instead of yourself and trust that God indeed has a plan for you life and is using you. The fruit will emerge . . . just remain faithful and don't quit.
0 comments:
Post a Comment