The Ministry of Struggle

Praise be to... the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God... If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort,

2 Corinthians 1:3-4, 6

We all go through times when we hurt, when we are weak and broken, when we weep far more than we laugh. Often in these times we want to hide ourselves away from the world. We're tempted to hide our pain, to deny our struggle, and to cover up our weakness. We see this in small gestures like when a person quickly brushes a tear away from their eye out of embarrassment. And we see it in bigger ways like when a person suffers alone, refusing to tell anyone about their struggle even years after it is done. 

We all have different reasons for doing this. You may think people don't want to hear about your problems or you may just be uncomfortable being vulnerable around others. You may even be ashamed of the behavior that led to your suffering. Whatever your reason, this passage tells that a Christian should never hide in his pain.  

Paul David Tripp puts it this way. "We all know that we don't own the blessings in our lives, that we are meant to pass them forward into the lives of others, but this passage confronts us with the fact that even our sufferings belong to the Lord for His use... This means that our suffering has ministry in view" (Tripp, Paul David, Suffering: Gospel Hope When Life Doesn't Make Sense. p183).

Your struggle is an opportunity for you to be comforted, and your comforting opens up fresh avenues of ministry to you. It literally trains and equips you to comfort others who struggle with the same kind of struggle you have had. This is why widows are often most effective at ministering to other widows. It's why those who have escaped the predatory porn industry have started ministries to help other porn actors escape and find freedom in Jesus as well. It's why recovered addicts play such a major role in addiction recovery programs. Those who have been through the fire, who received God's comfort in the battle, know best how to comfort others. 

So don't be greedy with your pain. Don't hide it away or struggle alone. If God has already brought you through something, then He did so in part so you could help bring someone else through something similar. And if you are in the midst of your struggle right now, then go to the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort and ask Him to minister to your needs. And let others know what you are going through. It just may be that as God comforts you you'll be able to reach out to someone you know who is struggling as well with the fresh supplies of comfort and hope that you have received from the Lord.

Glamorless (W.o.W. Rewind)

The next section was repaired by the men of Tekoa, but their nobles would not put their shoulders to the work under their supervisors.

Nehemiah 3:5

Serving the Lord is not always glamorous. In fact, it rarely is. Don't let the TV preachers fool you. It's not about sequined jackets or puffy hairdos. The Bible talks about feeding widows, caring for orphans, healing lepers, protecting the foreigner and the stranger, and showing hospitality to those in need. Jesus Himself walked the dusty roads of Palestine for three and a half years, healing and loving on the dregs of his society. He "put his shoulder to the work" of the cross, carrying it to the place of His crucifixion (John 19:17). He did not think it below Him to take your sin and your punishment upon Himself but "took on the nature of a servant" and "humbled himself" even to the point of  "death on a cross" (Philippians 2:7-8).

The Apostle Paul also gives us an example to follow. The great missionary financed his ministry by working as a tent maker during the day and preaching when he could (Acts 18:3-4, I Thess 2:9, II Thess 3:7-10). Paul never thought himself too good to do the Lord's work but saw himself as he truly was...a vile sinner saved by grace. Redeemed from slavery to sin, Paul became a slave of God...a willing servant who "put his shoulder to the work" with a grateful heart. He once wrote of the church as a great body in which the different members are asked to do different jobs. Just like the human body cannot be all mouth or all foot, the church cannot be all prophet or all teacher. Paul notes that "the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it" (I Cor 12:23-24).

So do not think yourself beyond or above any act of ministry or service to God's people. Remember what Jesus said to His disciples, "So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty’” (Luke 17:10). Choose to "put your shoulder to the work" to do whatever God has called you to do and whatever the Bible commands you to do with a cheerful heart as a thanks offering to your God. 

For further reading...

• I Cor 12:12-31- Which part of the body are you?
• Luke 17:7-10- A hard word on the true nature of servitude.
• Jonah- Trying to run from God's command? You should really put your shoulder to the work. 

Waiting

In your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

Psalm 139:16

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 2:10

You thought God had big things in store for your life, but here you are run aground on the rocks of discouragement and despair. You have a long list of reasons to feel like a failure as a believer. Your friends still aren’t believers. Your ministry is floundering. Despite your best efforts your kids more closely resemble Fred and George Weasley (of Harry Potter fame) than John and Charles Wesley. Sometimes you feel like you aren’t making any impact on the kingdom of God at all. What do you do with your disappointment? Is it your fault? Is it God’s?

Remember this: Many of the Bible’s greatest heroes went through long periods of time used to prepare them before their lives bore exceptional fruit for the kingdom. 

Moses was 80 years old (Exodus 7:7) before he uttered the famous words, “Let my people go.” Even as a young man he must have felt a touch of destiny on his life. He alone amongst all the Hebrew boys was saved from Pharaoh's hand, and he alone was adopted by Pharaoh's daughter. The same Pharaoh that expended resources in an effort kill all the Hebrew boys, by God’s providence, ended up using the same resources to raise and nurture the one boy who would deliver God's people. Who but God could do this? Yes, I believe Moses must have felt that God had a grand purpose for his life, but where do we find him after his first failed attempt to rescue his people? In the desert, tending sheep. The man who would one day lead millions of slaves out of Egypt across the Red Sea and through the desert, first spent 40 years (Exodus 7:7 & Acts 7:23) leading sheep to pasture and water. God made Moses wait while he prepared him for his destiny.

Consider King David. Where do we find him when the prophet Samuel is sent to Bethlehem to anoint the next king of Israel? Even among his own brothers, he isn’t considered the greatest. He is left out in the field like Moses tending sheep. He was just a young man then, likely somewhere between the ages of 10 and 20, when Samuel first anointed him. David was 30 years old when he finally became king (2 Samuel 5:4). That means David waited at least ten years to receive his kingdom. For ten years he served Saul, ministered to Saul, fought for Saul, and ran from Saul as the evil king tried to kill him. All the while, David waited for God's timing, which is exactly what King Saul had failed to do (I Samuel 13:8-10).

We find this same element of waiting in the lives of many Bible characters. Abraham waited twenty-four years for God to make good on His promise before Isaac was born. Jacob served in Laban's shadow for twenty years before he struck out on his own (Genesis 31:38). Joseph slaved for Potiphar and the prison keeper before he came to Pharaoh's attention and was made second in command. After Jesus’ resurrection and ascension the apostles were instructed to wait in Jerusalem until the Spirit empowered them for ministry from on high. They waited ten days before Pentecost changed them and the world forever. The apostle Paul spent three years in Arabia (Galatians 1:17-18) before his great ministry got under way.

You are no different. Be patient. Wait. Trust God's plan for your life. Seek to be faithful to Him above all else and you will see how He will use you for His glory. 

Cleanliness Comes Before Usefulness

But God's firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”

Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.

2 Timothy 2:19-21

When I was twenty-one and first starting out in youth ministry, I once had a group of teens play a game where they had to bob for candy bars that were floating in Mt. Dew inside a potty training toilet. Yeah, you read that correctly. Subtlety doesn't exactly win points in youth ministry.

Even as a twenty-one year old youth leader, I had enough sense to make sure that toilet was CLEAN. It was a vessel intended for dishonorable use, but once it was properly (and thoroughly) cleansed it was perfectly suitable for a wacky youth game. This formerly dirty vessel was not only used to eat out of but it was actually used to help further the kingdom of God!

That's kind of the point this passage is making. We are all like vessels that God has an intended use for. Some vessels are more useful and have more honorable purposes than others. The key to being used by God is simply this: one has to keep themselves clean. If we cleanse ourselves from the wickedness of this world, we will be ready to be used by God "for every good work."

Are you ready to be useful to God? Are you holy?

If this idea strikes you as strange, it shouldn't. We all apply the same logic in our churches almost instinctively. We expect a higher level of personal holiness from the Pastor than we do from the average choir member. If a pastor's life is characterized by too much sin then we consider him no longer worthy of the honorable ministry to which he was called. But this principle doesn't just apply to pastors; it has import for all believers. Verse 19 says, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”

Notice that holiness often requires separation from something. We are admonished to depart from sin. Holiness requires "fleeing youthful passions" as well as "pursuing righteousness" (2:22). What sin do you need to separate yourself from right now? What righteousness do you need to pursue? 

Father, help me to flee sin, to run away from wickedness. Make me holy so that I can be useful to You. Use me, Lord, to advance your kingdom. Use me to tell others about Jesus. Help me to accomplish all you have for me to do. May I be considered a "workman approved, one who has no reason to be ashamed but who correctly handles the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15). In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.