If God were to tell you, right now, that He wanted you to leave all you had and serve as a Missionary in another country, what would you think? If you were called to pastor a church in your community, what would come to mind? If your local church were to ask you to lead an outreach ministry, or children’s ministry, or any type of ministry, would you be willing to do it, without hesitation or reservations?
Yeah. I know.
The majority of people have a tendency to think of being a minister as a thankless job. It’s something that evokes images of struggling to survive or subjecting yourself to a life of drudgery. Setback and suffering come to mind, so most people aren’t willing to even consider it.
But here’s the truth…
Yes, being a minister can be a challenge, but it is supposed to be a life of victory and joy as well.
In the book of Acts, chapter 18 is actually a record of triumphant ministry. It records victories in key cities, and the addition of new church leaders such as Priscilla, Aquila and Apollos. The church was energized, and joyful, and it was growing by leaps and bounds. And even though the religious community was staunchly against the Gospel message of Christ, these ministers were having some fun proving them wrong.
Here, Acts 18:27-28 says this… “Apollos wanted to go to Achaia. So the believers in Ephesus helped him. They wrote a letter to the Lord’s followers in Achaia and asked them to accept Apollos. When he arrived there, he was a great help to those who had believed in Jesus because of God’s grace. He argued very strongly against the Jews before all the people. He clearly proved that the Jews were wrong. He used the Scriptures and showed that Jesus is the Messiah.”
Instead of allowing the challenges of serving God to get them down, the church in Achaia welcomed a minister who helped them persevere. Apollos, instead of cowering back, stood strong in Christ and emboldened the other believers to do the same.
And just like Apollos, if you are a minister (and truthfully, every believer is a minister of Christ), you need to rejoice in the victories Christ brings while navigating the hazards serving can bring. And, you need to be careful to reject the negative mindset that says you will never have victory in service.
There is victory in service…don’t let the naysayers lead you to believe otherwise!