Hard Ministry

Every ministry we’ve been in has had some hard times—and also some glorious times!   But one particular place we ministered in was a very hard three years.  One year into that ministry, I began praying and begging God to move us.  It was overwhelming.   But we wouldn’t leave that church for two more years.  

For instance, we soon found out that every time my husband was invited to lunch by someone in the church, it was to “correct” him.  He was invited to lunch almost every week.  At one of those meetings, he was told that if he didn’t start doing his ministry the way this man wanted, he would send the letter he presented to my husband to the personnel committee to have him fired.  We were building a house and a man from the church went to our builder and told him he should stop the building  process because we were leaving.  I guess he intended to make sure we were leaving.  “Accusations and Manipulation” could have been the church motto.  

But if that’s all I told you about that particular ministry, I’d be unfair.  Our staff had a bond which continues to this day.  We needed each other and were committed to covering one another with truth.  We also had some friends who surrounded us with love and loyalty.  But those things are not even the best part of that ministry.  The fire we walked through those three years purified and strengthened us.  God taught us things about ourselves and about our ministry we would never have learned any other way.  In fact, we look back on that ministry with great fondness because of what God taught us.  And there was fruitfulness in spite of some very hard ground. Some of those young people we taught are now in the ministry. 

I tell you all of this to say, don’t despise the hard places!  Ask God what He wants to teach you and cooperate with Him.  Press into Him!  You just might be surprised to find that the hard places create diamonds.