Ministry is hard! For all of those who have been in a ministry of one type of another, it is a given fact that doing ministry isn’t easy. Mostly it is long hours, little pay, and in a lot of cases, we don’t see the results of our efforts, ever. But today’s Scripture is an encouragement to each one of us because, even though you may not be part of a ministry, you do have a ministry just where you are.
As we continue in our study of seasons, today we are looking at the Season of Planting. Galatians 6:9 says, “Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.” Another version puts it this way, “Let’s not be weary in doing good, for we will reap in due season, if we don’t give up.” (WEB) In this section of the chapter, the Apostle Paul is talking about spiritual sowing and reaping. He says that we should not be deceived in what we do or how we live our lives, thinking we are doing great things for God when all we are doing is mocking God. Verse 8 says, “For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.” Then he tells the Galatians not to become weary in well-doing.
This hits me hard. I have to be so careful not to let pride get in the way of my ministry work. I must examine myself regularly to be sure that the reason I do ministry is for God’s glory and not my own. The second thing that I see is in our Scripture for today is, not becoming weary! This is so easy to do, especially when it seems like there is no result in the work that has been done.
Ministers and people who work in large ministries especially can find themselves in burn-out so quickly. When my first husband and I were running a Christian television station in Northern Wisconsin, we ran head-first into burnout. For all the hard work we were putting in, it seemed like we were reaching no one. We were basically the staff, because we were a brand-new station, and couldn’t afford a staff. We had seven volunteers, my husband was Chief Engineer, General Manager, On-Air personality, Master Control Operator, and Production Manager. I was the station’s Secretary, Traffic Manager, Volunteer Co-Ordinator, as well as running Master Control, Cameraperson, doing editing and sometimes On-Air personality. What usually takes a staff of almost 100, we and our volunteers did it all for three years. We would be airing programs and sit and wonder if anyone was watching, and if it was doing any good. When we began producing a local program involving the Pastors of different churches in the area, we began to see some movement. Our program had Pastors come in and do a 15-minute devotional that aired Monday through Friday. At Share-A-Thon time, we would have all our Pastors come in and help us raise funds. This was an area where the Pastors and churches didn’t really associate with one another. There was no co-operation between churches in doing ministry together. When we had the Pastors come in for Share-A-Thon, we mixed up the denominations so that Baptist would get to know Lutheran and Assembly of God, Methodist, and Missionary Alliance, etc. They found out that the other guys weren’t as bad as they once thought. As my husband put it, “They found out the other guy didn’t have two horns and a tail.” By the time we left, we found out that our efforts were rewarded. An Assembly of God Church and a Baptist Church got together and sponsored a Focus on the Family film series. It was as if God was telling us,” See, all the work was worth it and because of the station, a new atmosphere is growing between the churches.”
I shared this story to let you know, that even when you are ministering to someone, or praying for someone to come to know Jesus, don’t give up! You may be praying for a family member, and it has been YEARS! Don’t Give Up! All your work is not in vain. God says that His Word will not return to Him void. (Isaiah 55:11) That seed you are planting must take time to germinate and grow. There is a Season of Planting, a Season of Watering, and a Season of Harvest. It could be that you aren’t meant to see the Harvest time. There will be some things that we have worked so hard for, that we will never see the results this side of Heaven. Don’t be discouraged. Just know that God has it all in His hands, He is the God of the results. “Do not grow weary” Do not give up!
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