Following His Path...

Some days ministry is awesome.  You know what I'm talking about.  When you lead a service where God moves in and takes over, where lives are changed, where people really connect with the Savior.  Those are the days that we live for and strive to repeat because leading others to the throne of grace is why we are in ministry to begin with.  We want to help others come to know the King of Kings and strive to teach them what having a relationship with Him looks like.

Then there are the harder days.  The days where nothing seems to go as planned.  Where your teachers show up late or not at all, where the coffee maker busted, where the copier is out of toner and you just need two more copies, or when someone is upset with you because of something they heard from someone else about something you didn't have anything to do with. Yeah, those are fun days. (She said sarcastically.) 

But I think the hardest part of ministry, and the Christian life in general, is when God comes in and asks you to move out of your comfort zone.  When He gives you a vision that includes things you never thought you would see yourself doing in ways you never dreamed. No one likes to be blindly led, but in Scripture, God often asks His leaders to be willing to do just that.  Abraham was asked to go without knowing where he was going to end up (Genesis 12:1), so he left and God provided for him.  Gideon was asked to fight a battle with so few men he could not see how victory could be possible (Judges 7), but he obeyed and God provided the victory that was needed. When Jesus called His disciples, they really didn't have any idea how their lives would change, but they followed him and they were witness to amazing things and had the opportunity to learn at the feet of Jesus (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John have multiple accounts of them).  All of these people in Scripture, and many more as well, were asked to just follow where God was leading them without knowing what exactly that road would look like.  And when they obeyed, God used them in mighty ways.

When God asks us to step out in faith and do something we never thought we could do, those times are scary and can be overwhelming.  But then you remember that, He wouldn't ask you to step out in faith if He had any doubt you could do it.  He wouldn't choose you if you were not the right person for the job.  And though, you may not be able to see the road, the way is clearly marked from God's point of view.  The hard part is trusting Him to lead us.  Then again...if we really trust Him like we say we do, maybe it isn't all that hard after all.

In your ministry, you will have times where God calls you out of your comfort zone to places you never expected.  Keep following.  Though, it might seem like a wilderness to you, the road is clearly marked to God and He won't let you get lost so long as you follow His lead.