Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Therefore, since it is by God’s mercy that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart.”
NL Daily Devotion for Monday, May 13, 2024
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
Ministry can feel thankless. We can have the best intentions for some project or other and have it fall flat. No one signs up for our camp or neighborhood clean-up. We deliver donations to this or that organization and never receive an acknowledgment. We spend hours preparing a pot-luck and no one helps us clean up. Or on a larger scale, we reach out into the community, living into our call to share the good news, and yet our membership continues to dwindle and no one really wants to hear what we have to say.
I love Paul’s exhortation not to lose heart. We are responsible for the effort, but not for the outcome. Ultimately, no matter where we put our time and effort, what happens is up to God. We can research, plan, and cheerfully do whatever ministry our congregation feels meet the needs of the community. Then we get to let God be God, and the chips fall where they may. Is there room for evaluation? For maybe taking a different approach? Sure! But even then, the results are God’s. We need always have the humility to serve without expectation for return or results.
Have I lost heart in doing ministry in the past? Why? What helps me continue to try?
