Move Forward….When Life/Ministry Knocks You Down As I keep serving the Lord, I experience times of knock out. At times, I feel I have not prayed enough for the people that God has brought to me or job schedules as an accountant is really taking my time from dedicating it to spiritual assignments. The worst of the experiences is when I feel I’m forgotten, disrespected, ignored, mistreated by the sheep or feel gossiped about and misunderstood by colleagues. As a shepherd or a fellow dealing mate there, have you thought of how to move forward? My way has always been the bible and what it requires of me. The bible uses the not-so-complimentary metaphor sheep to describe those we serve. And sheep get dirty and smelly and often kick and bite. Sometimes those sheep we are leading do the same to their shepherds. So when you get kicked, forgotten, disrespected, ignored, mistreated, gossiped about, or misunderstood, Move forward! Maybe it has not been easy for you to stand in the faith because of your life experiences as a matured single lady? Be encouraged and Move forward Were you mistreated in a relationship? Don’t get stuck, move forward. Were you misunderstood and insulted wrongly. Forgive and move forward. The story recorded in 1 Samuel 30 gives great insight. David had just begun his career to fight the bad guys. Early on he faced a huge defeat. While he and his army were in battle far from home, the bad guys, the Amalekites, attacked the city where his family and the families of his army lived. They burned the city and kidnapped their wives and children. When Davids men discovered this, they considered removing him from his position, not by a vote of a board or a congregation, but with big rocks to the head by stoning. The Scriptures then record one of the most beautiful verses ever written. I Samuel 30:6 David encouraged himself in the Lord his God. (1 Sam. 30:6) It worked because his guys didnt stone him but marshaled their energy and once again pursued the bad guys under his leadership. As Ive faced discouragement in ministry, these simple choices have helped me encourage myself in the Lord. • Acknowledge your pain and emotion to the Lord, but dont wallow in it. • Journal your thoughts. Writing them down helps me stop the tendency to incessantly mull over the hurtful situation because the Holy Spirit ministers healings and comfort while you do that. • Read Gods word, especially those verses that speak of hope and victory. • Do something pro-active. Take action to move forward. In Davids case he took specific action to resolve the problem. He rallied his troops to chase down the Amalekites. • Stop condemning yourself and remind yourself that you are a child of God, loved by Him with great intrinsic value regardless of whether your ministry is growing or whether people treat you with respect. • Pray for those who have hurt you. Im amazed how God defuses looming bitterness in my heart when I pray for the sheep that bite me. If you get knocked down, sincerely seek the Lord and rise up in His strength to begin anew. Like: The Lords Army Ministry
Posted on: Tue, 14 Oct 2014 15:10:16 +0000
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