Friend in the Battle Part Deux

Ephesians 6: 18-20; praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

Health Issues

Work Problems

Marital and Family Disintegration

Financial trouble

Depression

Anxiety

Fear

In the past 3 weeks, as I have been praying with my congregation and through my contact lists, over and over I come face to face with leaders and followers of Jesus who are being assaulted by these issues. Whether by text, response cards, phone calls it seems that everyone, everywhere, is dealing with the discouragement and hopelessness that circumstances present them with.

As a pastor, I get conflicted by how to carry this with people, how to carry my own stuff and not being overwhelmed by the enormity of it all. I mean, I am the pastor. I am supposed to have a spiritual answer for everything and to exude an attitude of confident faith and never-ending joy.

I am not supposed to feel inadequate, have doubts, or want to just smash the rock with the staff out of my own sense of fear or frustration. Is it any wonder that burnout rates and moral failure rates are seemingly escalating in the church?

Pastoring. Teaching. They are admirable things to pursue – yet considering the cost is necessary. Maybe, instead of just theology our Bible Colleges and seminaries should include a course entitled, “Considering the Cost – the Pitfalls to Pursuing Pastoral Ministry.”

Now, before this comes across as a “Woe, is me…” kind of post – because it really isn’t – let me clarify something. I would not want to be anywhere else, doing anything else, with any other group of people than the ones God has placed me with right now. I believe that God has me, and them, right where He wants us – in Satan’s crosshairs – as together we try to figure out how to be “In community, for the community.”

As we wrestle with what it means to Love One another well, and love our community well starting with loving God well, we should expect the spiritual battles to rage around us. We should expect that we will have both physical and spiritual foes who stand against us and we should expect to be challenged to Love Well in the midst of that.

The first step in facing our friends, family, foes, and Father is bending our knees and elevating our cries, our pain, our fears and failures to the throne of Grace where Jesus sits – eagerly interceding on our behalf. When we bare our souls and our repentance and our petitions have been laid at His nail-scared feet, we have enlisted a Friend in the Battle.

See, as much as we need each other in the battle of life for accountability, we need a Saviour who has already proven victorious over the very things we face and has provided us with everything we need for life. We need to consistently, compassionately, courageously link arms with Jesus – and with like-minded others – to call for the Son of Heaven to show Himself to those who desperately need Him.

The battle is raging. Sitting at lunch recently, I was reminded that the battle is real and that the church must be doing something right for the battle to be this intense and for so many leaders (not just pastors – ministry leaders at every level) to be facing the battles they are. Join with me – and others – in fasting and praying in order that we may see God have the victory through those we care and walk with.

We all know pain.

We all know fear.

We all know disappointment.

Do you know the source of courage and strength in the midst of them?

Do you know Jesus?