“Ministry is hard.” “I’m overwhelmed.” “I’m just too busy. The pace is unsustainable.”
Have you heard these statements recently? Have you felt them?
I have.
I’ve been processing what to do about these feelings and I’ve found the solution…
I’m quitting.
If you resonate with those, you should quit too.
But, of course, I’m not going to quit laboring. That would be the worst solution. Jesus has commanded us to make disciples and promises His presence as we do (Matt 28:20). And I’m not cutting back on the spiritual disciplines that help me grow in grace (2 Peter 3:18). That would cut me off from the best means of abiding deeply with God (John 15:1-7).
When ministry gets tiring, we’re tempted to pull back. We go searching for some mythical “balance” that will somehow bring the proper feeling of rest. It’s tempting to blame the ministry.
But the solution CAN’T be to pull back on the healthy, God-honoring, fruitful activities in your life.
Don’t quit those!
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, it’s very likely you need to STOP, CUT, RID YOURSELF, and “QUIT” bad habits and behaviors that are weighing you down. It’s almost certain it’s those that are hindering your joy in laboring.
Of course, the Bible doesn’t use the word “quit,” but the concept is emphasized and repeated everywhere. It talks about throwing off (Heb 12:1), putting away (Eph 4:31), laying aside (Eph 4:22), or putting to death (Rom 8:13) certain behaviors and sins.
There is nothing more exhausting than living the Christian life in the flesh. You cant run the race with endurance with extra weight holding you down. Your main priority this year might be figuring out how to quit what feeds your flesh and prevents you from experiencing peace in your ministry.
Let’s evaluate 3 possible behaviors you need to commit to quit:
1. Sinful Character
In most of the verses above, God challenges us to put off sinful character areas like anger, wrath, malice, slander, gossip, lying, deceit, lust, pride, and worldly desires.
You know “God opposes the proud…” (James 4:6). Ministry is going to be tiring if God is actively opposing you because of your sinful character. David felt the heavy hand of God and it was exhausting (Psalm 32:4).
Growing in godly character is slow and difficult. It’s easy to set habits and goals that focus on the external–working out, getting up earlier, a Bible reading plan, etc. You can see quick progress in those. Character takes time to work on, but the time must be taken. No amount of ministry activity supersedes your growth in godliness.
You probably know the character areas you need to work on! If not, your spouse or teammates can tell you. Get them to help you. Tell them: “I’m trying to grow in this character area this semester. Will you help me?” Have them point it out to you when they see it.
Set a plan to study that area in the Bible. Pray through it. Process it in your life. And ask God to help you quit it. The Lord is committed to your sanctification. In Christ, you can put off the old man that is crucified with Him and put on the new!
As you mature, you’ll be amazed at the perspective and peace God gives you in regards to your mindset in ministry. Let this be the semester you see some amazing growth in godly character.
2. Complaining
Complaining is a category in itself and includes negativity and excuses. These are fuels of the flesh.
It feels good to complain. When things go wrong, we don’t want to be responsible for them.
“I didn’t have what I needed.”
“Those expectations were unrealistic.”
“This made me too busy.”
When I worked at SMU I caught myself regularly complaining about the difficulty of the campus. “This is hard soil,” I’d say. I even quoted the Rich Young Ruler as proof!
In reality, it was an excuse. It was a way to make myself feel better when the results weren’t what I was hoping for. It became a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Hard soil? For who? Surely, not for God!
I committed to quit using the word “hard” that year. Instead, I fought for greater faith and asked God for it. I labored without making excuses and trusted the Lord with the fruit.
Phil 2:14 says, “Do everything without complaining and arguing,” And Paul wrote that from PRISON! Complaining is a cop-out. Excuses point the finger at others.
It doesn’t matter your circumstances. You can control your attitude. If you’ve caught yourself complaining or dealing with a negative attitude recently, commit to quitting it. Make this a no-excuse, no-complaining semester.
Complaining spoils joy. Don’t let it! Have an attitude of anticipation, of belief. Trust God with this season and circumstance He has you in and labor with faith.
3. Consumption
It’s likely much of your exhaustion doesn’t come from the ministry activity, but because of what the rest of your schedule looks like.
If most of your downtime is screen time, it’s hard to ever be at rest.
This is a battle every laborer has to fight–to quit allowing yourself to be overwhelmed and bombarded by media. Your addiction to screens is killing your joy and rest in the Lord. When you constantly feed on media entertainment, it fills your soul with spiritual junk food that cannot satisfy. You can’t help but feel busy and more anxious.
The scroll kills your soul.
Just think if ONE of the hours you spent a day on your phone was given to quiet prayer, thinking on the Scriptures, a walk outside–anything! I promise you would feel a difference in your rest and peace.
So think: what’s one show you need to quit? One app? One source of media? What could that free you up to do?
Laborers are biased toward action, not consumption. You can’t allow your media consumption to rob you of your effectiveness.
Put it into Practice:
This semester has so much potential! I don’t want it to be robbed by weights and hindrances that slow you down. I know you have a lot you want TO DO on campus. However, it might be what you DON’T do that makes all the difference.
Will you join me in quitting?
Commit to quit the added weight and the sinful behaviors that hinder your race (Heb 12:1).
Get together with your team or a mentor and talk through these 3 behaviors and/or others that might need to be eliminated from your life.
Discuss/Reflect:
- Which of the 3 behaviors resonates the most right now?
- What’s a realistic, achievable goal to eliminate that from your life? How will you do that?
- Who can help? How?
