Guide to finding your ministry…
Feb 16th, 2010 by ljkim
If God has a ministry for you right now – some way in which you are uniquely placed or uniquely equipped to serve… then one reason you might not be able to figure out what it is, is because you’re confusing your ministry with your skill set… At some point in your life God’s ministry for you might be taking care of an elderly parent or a sick spouse. That has nothing to do with your skill set, but everything to do with who you are. Or your ministry at the moment might be to befriend people around you, and treat someone with dignity when others do not… This might not be the main ministry God has for you five years from now, but it might be something so simple and unglamorous right now that you’re overlooking it… You might be thinking, “I have a professional degree, I have a unique skill set” but God is not impressed with your abilities – He can give abilities (or take them away), God is more impressed with humility and faithfulness…
So with that in mind here are some tips to help you find the ministry God has for you right now:
- Be faithful with the small unglamorous ministries – and God will eventually give you bigger ones…
- Rely on God for necessary skills, otherwise you might give up on your ministry because you think it’s out of your reach…
- Don’t expect your ministry to be something you like initially – but do expect that you will love and be grateful for the opportunity down the line…no matter what a sacrifice it seems at the moment…
- If there’s no opportunity to do your ministry right now – that’s because it’s NOT your ministry right now… You have to learn to follow Jesus, and stop trying to lead Him in directions you like.
- Your ministry will be something that you have an opportunity to do…
- Don’t expect your ministry to be easy – but do expect that God will send help at just the right times…
- Don’t expect other people to support your ministry right away, most people will probably try to talk you out of it…and you might not see any immediate fruit to your labor.
- Your ministry should be something that’s worth doing – even if you were to fail at it! A battle that’s worth fighting, a cause that’s worth pressing forward – even if it brings you nothing but heartache in the end… that’s part of how you know it’s a worthy cause.
- Do expect some confirmation of your ministry – not everyone will encourage you – but if NO ONE encourages you, then it’s probably not your ministry…
- Find other people who are looking for their ministries, and other people who have FOUND them… Don’t imitate their ministries – because yours will be unique to you (even when it sounds similar to someone else’s on paper) – but let their experiences encourage you and give you perspective on yours…
In the early church, Stephen’s ministry was to deliver food to elderly widows, then as a public speaker debating with religious zealots, and then to die forgiving his attackers… Those three “ministries” have little in common, and I bet no one who knew Stephen when he was a little kid would have guessed what they would be…
Likewise, when the singer Bono was 16, I doubt anyone thought his ministry as an adult would have to do with international politics!
You might have people trying to tell you what your ministry is (but not me!) – There will always be people trying to tell you what to do… But it’s up to you to find out what it is right now… Once you find it, follow Jesus with it, He’ll lead you to something else, and then something else still. It will be great! You will feel like life is more wild and exciting than anything you dreamed for yourself. So what are you waiting for?
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