Ministry 

I believe it is time for us ladies to...ask boldly of our Heavenly Father.

Please read Judges 1 v13b-15

The young lady in our passage, the daughter of Caleb, asks her father for a piece of land. In many countries, even today, it is not the norm (sometimes even illegal) for women to own land. Her asking may not have been daring in the context of her culture, though I think it was, but it was certainly bold.

Let us think about ministry. In what ways are you engaged in ministering to others? Seriously think about it. Are there other ways that you would like to minister but currently do not?

Begin praying in a new way about, and for, your ministry. Pray boldly. God is preparing the church to be the bride of Christ who will minister before him for eternity. We must be bold in growing in our ministries in the church.

It is important not to be “doing ministry” because we think we should. If we work this way we will find that we are tired and too busy to do the things that God wants us to do. No, we must begin out ministry in prayer. Only when we are sure that God wants us to move forward in activity should we begin. If God doesn’t call you to a specific ministry then continue to be what all Christians are called to be and that is a worshipper. Spend your days in humble worship and service of God. “But if no one does anything but worship our churches will collapse.” No, because God does call people to do things but so often we miss His call because we are busy doing and not worshipping and miss His voice.

Equally if you are not called to a ministry at this time you are not called to do nothing.

Equally if you are not called to a ministry at this time you are not called to do nothing. Study your Bible, pray, worship. Does a soldier not on the battle field do nothing? Again, no. There is training, preparation and much else to do. Like wise we must not do nothing because we will not be ready and trained up when God’s call comes. (And you could say as Christians we should always be on the front line in prayer anyway.)

Be bold in your prayer. Chase God passionately in your request for “a patch to cultivate”. It may be that you are to be an intercessor rather than a preacher; a mother rather than a street evangelist; a neighbour rather than a cook in a soup kitchen. No matter how humble the call, if that is where you are to cultivate your patch then you must do so with boldness and passion. God will not make you do what you are not willing to do (nor what you are untrained for.) He will give you a patch to work on but He will not make you work your land.

But what if I feel I am not able to do that ministry? Let’s go back to our lady in the passage for I think there is another lesson there in her next move.

Isn’t it enough that she has asked her father for a patch to cultivate? You might think so but if we look at verse 15 she asks something further of her father. “Since you have given me land in the Negev, give me also springs of water.” What a cheek! Not only has she asked for land on which to plant, now she wants her father to provide the means for ensuring she can get a harvest from it. But what does her father say (end of verse 15)? He says yes!

And so it is with our Father in heaven. We must not stop at asking God to give us a ministry but we must look entirely to Him to provide all the means necessary to bring forth the full harvest of that patch. We may bring forth some kind of harvest if we rely on our own ingenuity but God wants a rich harvest and we must rely on His watering of the situation to bring it forth. Pray boldly to God for the harvest and the means to water it. Work not in your own strength and your own resources (no matter how naturally talented you are) but say I will only do what You, God, send me to do. I will not be so busy trying that I do not have the time or energy to go where You call me to bring in a plentiful harvest. I will rely on You God for the land and for the watering of it.

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This article © Linda Faber 2006-2009.