Encouragement For The Servant

All too often through the years I have seen many fellow brothers and sisters struggle in their service to the Lord as they work, serve and give of themselves to do their part in furthering the kingdom of God in their families, their Church and their community where God had placed them. Their struggles were real and often times their discouragement came not in the work that they were doing, but in the lack of encouragement they received to keep up the good work. Sometimes as Leaders we fail to give proper encouragement to those who serve under us because we ourselves may be discouraged or busy. While pastors and staff face their own difficulties, those that are lay-workers fight the same battle. Why! Because they serve the same God and battle the same enemy.  If today sweet friend you are facing discouragement in the task that God has called you to do, please allow me to love on you and minister the word of God into your life, even down into the very spiritual marrow of where the weariness has welled up in you. Everyone needs inspiration and biblical reinforcement for what they do. Whether you are an employee of the church or simply a worker who volunteers your service as an act of obedience to your own personal calling, you need to be encouraged regularly, by being reminded that your good work, is worth the effort and struggle and to keep on persevering until your work has been completed and God calls you home or removes you from your current position to another one, so that He may increase and you may decrease there.

Perseverance seems to be an outdated concept in our day of instant everything. If it doesn’t come easy, why pursue it? If it’s hard or requires endurance, you can quickly succumb to the feeling of "maybe it’s not for you after all" and begin to look for something that requires less commitment. This reminds me of the story of Thomas Edison, as he tried again and again to find the right filament for his incandescent electric light bulb. One day he had completed his 10,000th experiment only to discover another way that would not work. When he arrived home that night, he shared with his wife about all the efforts he had made but had still not seen the outcome of his dream. She questioned his commitment by saying,  “Aren’t you pretty discouraged, Tom?”.  “Discouraged?” responded Edison. “Certainly not! I now know 10,000 ways that won’t work!” Edison learned a unique way of looking at his disappointments and how to turn them into hope. There is another man that learned to do the same thing, but he also learned how to encourage others who were doing the same work as he was, in rebuilding the temple of God. Haggai understood weariness and discouragement. But he learned how to encourage God’s people and his fellow co-laborers in the work that God had required them to do. He knew that the work required lifting each other up in order to see them through the great task that was ahead of them.

Starting something and seeing it through to the finish is a daunting job that requires tenacity and perseverance. It is always easy to start something, like a new diet. But it’s tough to stick with it when you crave those salty chips and dip at the local Mexican restaurant. It’s easy to start a new exercise program, but it becomes tough to persevere when your muscles are aching for you to stop. Getting married is easy. But it’s tough to hang in there and work through problems through the years. It’s easy to begin a new ministry. But, it’s tough to keep on when problems arise or when the results don’t match your initial expectations. Can you relate? Well, that describes the people in Haggai’s day as they began work on rebuilding the temple. The foundation had been laid about 15 years before, but the project had been just sitting on the shelf waiting to be finished. Then one day, in response to Haggai’s message from the Lord, as he shared with the leaders and those who would do the work, the temple began to take shape once again and things were looking up! Haggai delivered his second message to them in Haggai 2:1-9. By this point, God’s people were getting tired and weary. His second message to them came as a message of God’s encouragement to a group of discouraged leaders and workers.

Haggai knew that his job at that point was to encourage those that God had given him to do the work by reminding them that their work and efforts were not in vain but a good thing. Haggai 2:1-3 reminds us that, the Lord did not gloss over or ignore the reality of the situation. He knew what they were thinking and feeling, and He brings it up to show them that He understood and that He cared for them. To be a great leader over God’s workman, it is part of our job to encourage them in their work and to insure they have what they need to complete the task that God has called them to do. Leaders not only lead by their examples, they become cheerleaders for the ones that they are over.  You see in Haggai’s day God’s people had loss their initial excitement and their work was taking its toll on their efforts. They were in need of a cheerleader and Haggai was up to the task God had given him as the leader of his people. There is always a certain sense of excitement when you begin a new ministry or project. But the glow can easily rub off in the grind, if we are not mindful and aware that it can happen. There were probably piles of rubble that needed to be removed. Perhaps some of the workers had envisioned putting the finishing touches on the work and accomplishments that had been made when they realized that there was some rubble that still needed hauling. Their initial enthusiasm was already wearing thin because everyone had been putting out work but not taking in the spiritual nourishment needed to maintain the longevity needed to complete the work and then God showed up for them through Haggai.

The time will always come, when the glamour of the newness wears off and you are left with only a memory of what you know God has called you to do. There are many things that can happen during the work that can discourage you and delays are one of them. Work for the Lord seldom moves as quickly as we hope it will and we must learn to adjust to those conditions. Outside opposition and criticism can discourage us and they too will come at some point just as they did to the servants in Haggai’s day. In verse 5, the Lord says, “Do not fear!” He would not have said that, unless they felt they had a reason to be afraid. Probably the same men who had threatened them and lobbied against them at the Persian court 15 years earlier, was at it again. Any time you attempt to do God’s work, satan will stir up opposition. We’re in a battle with the forces of darkness that are opposed to the church of Jesus Christ. So expect opposition! God is looking for the glory of Christ formed in the hearts of His people, not for the outward, superficial signs of success. He is in charge of all success. All we have to do is focus on the call and how we are responding to it. The enemy loves it when we listen to his whispers of not viewing our success in light of God’s Word. None of the workers on this temple lived to see its glory and how it exceed that of Solomon’s Temple. That didn’t happen until the Messiah came into the temple over 500 years later. With God, a thousand years is as a day. True success will be measured in the light of eternity, not in our lifetimes. We need to keep this in mind as we labor for the Lord. The harvest is at the end of the age, not at the end of each day. Whatever our source of discouragement, God understands and He cares. But He doesn’t coddle us or let us stay there, He encourages us to keep it up, to persevere. In chapter 2, three times the Lord repeats, “Be strong!”, “Take courage!” and He tells them to work. Keep going! Persevere! There are two aspects to this kind of perseverance: an attitude and an action. The people had the wrong attitude. They were weak because they had gotten their focus off the Lord and onto the slow, disappointing progress on the temple. Maybe they were thinking, “This will never get done. We’re just wasting our time!” Have you ever noticed how much your attitude affects your ability to persevere? If you’re motivated, you can stay up all night on a project. But if you get discouraged, you procrastinate and never get around to finishing it.

We hear a lot about pastors, leaders and church workers burning out and quitting the work that they formally say God called them to do. Yet in many of those cases,  the cause of their burnout just may be,  because they did not properly manage their schedules and task as they should have, they were micro managers trying to control everything and do everything without utilizing the help that God provided them in fellow church servants that had the spiritual gifts to do the jobs needed for those many task. They had the wrong attitude when faced with discouragement because of setbacks or disappointments. They were unable to deal with the backlash of people who are in the church, that no one could make happy. And sadly, sometimes they simply do not want to surrender to the call after they begin the work because, they find the task cost them more than they are willing to pay.

But can I tell you that sometimes, people just loose heart. They need someone to come alongside them and remind them that their work is paying off even though they can not see the end results and to keep on keeping on. As God’s servants we cannot afford to be emotionally fragile. Someone offends us, we get our feelings hurt and choose to drop out of service instead of handling things the way God’s Word tells us to. Someone doesn’t do what we had expected or the way we would do it, we quit. Someone criticizes what we’re doing, and we say, “Let them do it cause, I’m out of here!”. But God says, “Be strong!” We aren’t to be strong in our own strength, of course, but in God’s strength 2 Cor. 3:5. But, be strong! Have the attitude that hangs in there in spite of obstacles. The real question is not how do we see things, but how does God see things? If we have not factored God into the equation, we don’t see things in the right perspective and it is certain that we will not last. Remember the story of the 12 spies in Num. 14:9, who went into the land of Canaan? Ten of them came back focused on the giants in the land and said, “We’re like grasshoppers in their sight. We can’t conquer them!” But Joshua and Caleb came back and said, paraphrasing, “Because God is with us and He has promised us that land, it will be ours!” Be strong in attitude!

You see your attitude provides your motivation, but motivation without work won’t get the work done. Joshua and Caleb had the right attitude of trust in the Lord. But they still had to go into the land and fight the giants. Much of the Lord’s work requires of us, far more perspiration than inspiration! That is certainly true in my own service to the Lord. Just because we’re gifted in whatever we do for the Lord does not mean that it just flows effortlessly. To persevere we must not only be strong; we also must work and sometimes the work alone is why God’s people give up. Because they have to work to do it! It’s always easier doing what suits us verses doing what is required of us.

God assures us when we are discouraged in serving Him by His presence, His promise, and His prophecy according to 2:4b-9. After telling Zerubbabel, Joshua, and the people to be strong and to work, God adds, ‘“For I am with you,’ says the Lord of hosts.” The Jews may have feared a hostile host against them, but God is the Lord of hosts, the supreme ruler over all the armies of heaven and earth. If the Lord of hosts is with us, who can defeat us? If we’re serving Him, then nothing can happen to us accidentally or without His express permission. The assurance of His presence should lift our discouragement and enable us to press on. After many years of hardship and danger in the heart of Africa, David Livingstone received an honorary doctorate from the University of Glasgow. On that occasion, he said, “Would you like me to tell you what supported me through all the years of exile among people whose language I could not understand, and whose attitude toward me was always uncertain and often hostile? It was this: ‘Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.’ On those words I staked everything, and they never failed.” God gave us His Promise”  Chapter 2:5 refers to the covenant God made with Israel when they came out of Egypt. He promises them now, as He had then, that His Spirit would go with them and abide in their midst. Therefore, they need not fear. God has made a better covenant with us than He did with them, the New Covenant, enacted on better promises according to Heb. 8:6. Jesus sealed that New Covenant with His own blood. He promised us the indwelling Holy Spirit to be with us forever  in John 14:16. When we grow discouraged in our service for Him, we should remember His promise, that He would not leave us as orphans, but would come to us and that in the meanwhile, He has given us the Holy Spirit to enable us to serve Him. The many prophecies in Scripture are not given for us to speculate about the future, but to strengthen and encourage our faith. When we see how God has worked down through the ages in accordance with what He told His people in advance, it encourages us to keep serving Him, knowing that the remaining unfulfilled prophecies will surely yet be fulfilled.

One of the most remarkable examples of a Christian persevering is Jesus Christ Himself. Yet even He, the Son of God became overwhelmed in the work that He faced as he was headed to the cross, but thank God He did not give up or back down from the task that He was called to do. He simply yielded. He yielded His way to the Father’s way by saying in the garden, “not my will, but yours be done”. That sweet friend is what our response must be when we are facing hardships, hurts and disappointments for lack of encouragement. Instead of giving up, we must learn to get up, encourage ourselves with the truth an don’t give in to hell’s pity party that we are invited to. As God’s people, you can persevere in whatever the Lord has given you to do for His kingdom. Just like the people building the temple in Haggai’s day, I give you these Words from the Lord, allow them to sink deep with you and encourage you to keep on keeping on. The battle is not over but the victory is already won, so let us live like we believe it! You will survive when the fire inside you burns brighter than the fire around you. So, be encouraged today sweet friend, what you are doing in serving the Lord of your life is important, never loose heart! He is coming soon and your reward is with Him!

 

Hold Fast,

Bren

·         Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ. -  Colossians 3:23-244

·         God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. -  Hebrews 6:10

·         Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered. - Proverbs 11:25

·         Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. -  Luke 6:38

·         As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. - 1 Peter 4:10-11

·         Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; - Romans 12:10-11