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about difficult times Ministry makes me miserable
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"They do not cry out to me from their hearts but wail upon their beds." Hosea ch7 v14 NIV Difficult days Every job brings its challenges and difficulties and Christian leadership certainly does. In fact Satan does his best to subtly (or even blatantly sometimes) bring problems to hinder the task. What do we do when we feel that we are going though difficult days? Many women have a little cry now and again when things seem a bit too much. Crying gives us a quick pick-me-up as our bodies release chemicals which make us feel better briefly. (The same chemicals are released when we sing too so singing praises to God really does make us feel better in the physical as well as the spiritual!) Those wonderful bodies which God made at the peak of His creation can help us feel better in times of difficulty and sadness. Bad habit But crying is not always good. We can get into the habit of crying when we feel sorry for ourselves and crying will not change our circumstances or us. In the book of the minor prophet Hosea we find God addressing a people who had got them selves into such a habit. God accuses them of “wailing on their beds” (Hoses ch7 v 14) when it would have been better by far to turn to God instead. God can change both us and our circumstances and actually do something to make things better rather than just offering a momentary feel-better. And of course if we make a habit of crying our bodies no longer react to those feel-good chemicals and we are on an unhealthy road. |
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People and circumstances are beyond our control and everything can become too much. |
Too much It is tempting when things are not going well in ministry to “wail on our beds” and be miserable. People and circumstances are beyond our control and everything can become too much. Our problems are unique to us. Each one of us is different and Satan is a master at exploiting the very place where we are most vulnerable and have the most tender feelings. ‘I will just indulge in a bit of misery and wailing and wait for the upset to pass.’ I know I have been tempted to act this way myself and we might just be able to find a good excuse to justify this self pity. ‘I haven’t got the strength to fight just now.’ We haven’t got that luxury! You can’t just decide that tonight you will duck out from beneath the enemy nation’s bombing run because you’d rather sleep peacefully in your bed and not bother with air raid shelters thank you very much. |
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People and circumstances are beyond our control but they are not beyond God’s.
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God's hand People and circumstances are beyond our control but they are not beyond God’s. If something is difficult to bear God wants us to cry out to Him from our hearts. It is His longing that we should bring our burdens to Him. It is his longing that we should lean upon His grace. It is his longing that we should make Him our hiding place. It is His longing that we should shelter under His wing. My dear Christian sister, what is your burden today? What is making you miserable? Does God say of you, ‘She does not cry out to me from her heart but wails upon her bed’? Hear the tone of sadness in God’s voice as He says this about you. Just as a parent drops everything to run to a child who cries out with pain after falling off their bicycle, so God will come running as He hears a cry from your heart. |
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‘I have tried that and God doesn’t change anything.’ Yes He does. He doesn’t always change the place and circumstances but He can change you to meet the task if you are willing. He hears our prayer when we cry out from the heart. He gives us the grace to fulfil the calling (2 Corinthians ch12 v9). He leads us in His anointing. As God’s people in leadership God has fully equipped us for every deed and we do not need to wail and moan our way through each day if we are walking in His ways. Yes, many things will be difficult, many times we will be hurt, but we must cry out to God and not wail upon our beds for He longs to intervene. |
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(place holder) Return to top Return to Home Page This article © Linda Faber 2006-2009.
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