Devotionals

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The Long and Dusty Road*
It had taken months to put it together and during that time there were many times when she had wondered what was she getting herself into. After all, she was a working mother of two young children with a new home to manage and a devoted husband to care for. Didn’t she already have enough on her agenda? How could she possibly take over the lead position for a new ministry? In her prayers, however, the answer to that question had always been the same: “Do this for me.” “We can handle it together.” “Have faith.”

The journey had been wonderful. God had helped her to bring together a team of eight women, equally dedicated and committed to the ministry. Everything seemed to be falling in place. A new pastor had come to the church bringing with him passion and support for the plans that were in place.

But everything had not gone smoothly. She had faced unexpected resistance for the program within the church family. “Another new ministry? How many of these are we going to start? Aren’t we stretched too thin already? Where are we going to find more volunteers?” These comments were expected because they were questions she had asked herself but when one of her most trusted friends and colleagues had turned down an invitation to be apart of the ministry, it had sent her reeling. He had told her that no one would come to a downtown church for a midweek program, especially the seekers she was hoping to attract.

“You are wasting your time and energy,” he had told her. “Why don’t you stay home and focus on raising your kids? They’re the ones that need you the most right now.”

“Surely God would not have led me this far just to have the program fail,” she had argued with her husband later that evening. He had become a strong supporter of the program and she relied heavily on him as a sounding board. “Why would Geoff be so cruel in his assessment? What is he seeing that I have missed?”

After thirty minutes of pacing, questioning, and expounding the wonders of the ministry, her flames of passion were finally exhausted and she collapsed onto the bed. She was close to tears and closer to quitting. She had come to the conclusion that Geoff had been right and she had no business pursuing this fairy-tale ministry any further. It was wrong to ask the church to expend its resources on a ministry that was doomed from the beginning.

Her husband quietly reached across to the bed-side table and retrieved his Bible. It was a motion she had grown to expect from him. He never was one to simply respond to her questions and offer opinions. She settled into her gloom and waited as he searched for the verses that he would use to support his answer.

After a few minutes, he looked up and asked her to listen to the verses in Luke he had found. “These are the verses when Jesus was sending the seventy disciples into ministry,” he began gently. “Do you recall what he told them about the towns that were not receptive to them?”

“I think it had something to do with shaking the dirt off their sandals,” she replied.

“That’s it, shake off the dirt and to tell them the kingdom is near. He did not say that their ministry efforts would be accepted or understood by everyone. He simply said, go forth in pairs, don’t worry about what you should carry with you, heal the sick, be a blessing to those who will listen, and move on when you meet resistance. He didn’t say anything about quitting.”

“But it is Geoff. He is as devoted a Christian as anyone we know.”

He closed the Bible set it back on the table. “Yes, he is but this time he is not listening. You have done everything right. You have prayed, listened, pulled together teams, and when in doubt, you have prayed again. I don’t know what is going on with Geoff, but I think this is a time to shake the dirt from your sandals and simply move on.”

She hesitated sensing the wisdom in her husband’s argument. “I just don’t know. There is that issue of the worship leader. We haven’t yet found anyone to fill that position. Maybe it just isn’t meant to be.”

“God will send you a worship leader and this ministry will successfully fulfill the needs of those seeking to know Him. Now, let’s get ready for bed. You have a busy day ahead.”

Closing Prayer:

Devoted and loving Lord. No one says that following your lead into ministry will be easy. There will be unexpected obstacles along the way that will cause us to think that we should quit. We thank you for the lessons from this week’s verses in Luke that provide us a model for doing your work. We realize that as Christians we are expected to go forth, heal, and make disciples of all nations. We pray that we are forever focused on your loving guidance in order that we always follow the path that you have set before us. We pray that we recognize the importance of developing strong cohesive teams. We also pray that you give us the strength and wisdom to know when to shake the dust from our sandals and to move on without looking back. Most importantly, Lord, we thank you for the heroes you send in our midst willing to dedicate their lives to you. Through Jesus Christ we pray, Amen.

Based on the principles to Christian ministry found in Luke 10:1-11


*This story, though fictional, was inspired by the leaders at FUMC involved in developing the new Alpha Course scheduled to begin in September, 2004. Your prayerful support for the success of Alpha and the other ministries at FUMC that are focused on meeting the needs of those God sends our way is appreciated. In addition, please pray that God sends to our church the worship leader He has in mind to lead the worship aspects of this new ministry.

FUMC Devotionals

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