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Have You Felt Discouraged in Ministry?

by Bill Mellinger

You are in some good company. Sarah thought she would never give birth and than was wounded by Hagar’s pride. How do you think David felt when his son was pursuing him? Elijah thought he was the only one left who was still serving God. Peter was discouraged by his own denial of Christ.

Discouragement in ministry can come at any time. Who hasn‘t had a mountaintop experienced that was met by discouragement on the drive back down to the valley (literally and figuratively)?

For the past few months there has been a reocurring theme at our monthly coaching meeting. One of our leaders has repeated the same issue in her group. She now just says one word, “Inconsistency.” The group has seen great things happen in the lives of its members. One man talks about the group saving his life from addiction. He has opened up the darkness in his life and the group has helped him change. Family, car, and work issues have hindered his participation.

Attendance has grown to seventeen and the leader in training even had the group meet at his home for a few weeks. Following the experiment, they have decided not to host the group. Now their job commitments have them missing two or three times a month. At the same time, others in the group have also had job related issues affecting their attendance. Recently, the group only had one person attend along with the leader and her spouse. This is discouraging. We thought we were multiplying and instead, we are concerned about the future of the group. Did I mention that the leader is my wife?

Ministry is full of ups and downs. We had a man accept Christ in the group, begin growing in Christ only to be wounded by another Christian. As pressures grew, he stopped coming. Now he is attending the Mormon Church with his daughter. Was this discouraging? Oh my, it is heart breaking.

When we are giving our hearts to people and loving them in Jesus’ name, we are going to face discouragement. Jesus felt it when he looked out over Jerusalem and wept the week before he went to the cross. He had to feel it when he looked in Peter’s eyes just after Peter had denied him. Could it have been any more intense then when he took sin on himself on the cross and experienced the Father’s rejection?

Discouragement is like grief. Sometimes the less said is best. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” (Matthew 5:4). God comforts us by being with us in the valley (Psalm 23). Did the words of Job’s wife or his friends comfort him? II Corinthians 1:4 says that God comforts us “so that we can comfort” others who are hurting. Is it what we say or our presence that brings more comfort? Even Paul, was comforted by God through the coming of Titus (II Corinthians 7:6).

Are you discouraged? Is one of your leaders discouraged? God cares. He is with you. Your leader needs to know that you care. Show it by getting next to them. Show it with your prayers. Show it by preaching with your actions and a few words. Some discouragement comes because of real pain or legitimate disappointments. How do you think the Body of Christ should respond when someone is grieving? What helps you when you are discouraged? Go and do likewise and the God of peace will be with you.