Don't worry about the ankle biters

I had an opportunity to speak with a really good friend today. A real strong Christian pastor who is on fire for the Lord. But I sensed in our conversation a little...how should I say it... little down I guess. He wasn't the same old guy I had come to know. But as we got to talking, it became clear what was going on. He was being put through the ringer by some of his closest friends. People were beginning to question his motivations for doing certain things and why he had changed them. And this was weighing heavily on him. My heart went out to him. I too have gone through many situations similar to his. When you stick your neck out and try to serve the Lord in non-traditional ways, this blog for example, you're putting yourself out there for criticism and even ridicule.

I did the only thing I could for him, which was to encourage him and tell him that he was on the right path. The people resisted change and that this was no different. When I got back to school, I opened up one of the daily devotionals I subscribe to and had a message that was perfect for his situation. The message was about obedience to God in the ministry field. Our job is to simply enter the field, plow, and continue to scatter seed. The praises of men will come and go, but the joy of knowing that God is glorified by our obedience is steady and unshakable. What a wonderful testimony. The praise of men will come and go. That is sooooooo true. People will love you when you're doing things they want and agree with. But they will stop loving you if you stop doing what they want and agree with. But if you are obedient to what the Lord says, in His Word, then God's love is steady and unshakable.

Sometimes in ministry we are obsessed about the "results" or "praise." Oh, the numbers in our Sunday School is dropping. Or the numbers at church are dropping. What can we do to bring it back up? The real message from God is that the numbers and results will take care of themselves if we are obedient to His calling and His will. Our calling from God is a lifetime commitment. There will be times when we see HUGE results, large numbers, etc. Yet, there will be times we see the opposite. It shouldn't diminish our fire for doing His will. It is the same God with the large numbers as with the small numbers. The same God with people praising us and when people criticize us. If we our service on God relies on the approval of people, then we will never be able to serve God because we can never gain people's approval. But if our service to God is dependent on our obedience and love for Him, then that should never change.