Peace in Ministry

“After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go.  And he said to them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.  Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.  Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.  Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road.  Whatever house you enter, first say ‘Peace be to this house!’ And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him.  But if not, it will return to you.’”  Luke 10:1-6

 Serving the Lord should be a great source of joy for us as Christians, but we can quickly lose that joy if we lose our focus.  Jesus was clear throughout His teachings in His time on this earth that to follow Him means to walk through hardships and trials.  I have found myself many times feeling stressed out and anxious about ministry and in those times I need to check my heart and refocus my attentions and affections on Jesus.

Notice how Jesus points out that “the laborers are few” in Luke 10:2.  This is one of the biggest issues I have seen no matter what ministry I’ve served in.  It’s hard to get people to show up.  We have made appeals, designed web pages and posters, decorated signup tables, posted on social media, announced from the pulpit, many times for various service opportunities over the years.  I’ve waited in the foyer for people to rush out of the sanctuary and put their name on the list.  It hasn’t happened yet.  It’s always the same few people that sign up for everything.  Jesus has told us the solution to this is to pray.  “Pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” (Luke 10:3).  All we need to do is pray.  Not complain with our friends.  Not layer on the guilt.  Not stew in frustration.  Not give up.  We pray because it is not by human effort that hearts are changed, it’s through the supernatural and miraculous work of God.  It is so tempting for me to be filled with pride and judge others based on what I am doing and what they are not, and just like Martha it can ruin my day as I neglect the joy of being with the Lord and compare myself to others.  My pastor has said that “comparison is the thief of joy”, and it’s so true.  God will determine who will join me in whatever ministry He’s called me to, I just need to follow Him and let him do the rest. 

Another really important principal Jesus tells us in these verses is that He will supply what we need in ministry.  “Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road.” (Luke 10:4).  We can try to do so much on our own in ministry that we don’t give God any opportunity to blow our minds with His miraculous provision.  I want to have everything in place and prepared for first, and then move forward in ministry, but Jesus calls us to step forward with Him and trust that He’ll provide what we need as we go.  That’s super scary!!  But that is what it looks like to walk in faith.  We show up, we give all we have, and God exceeds all of our expectations. 

One other issue Jesus addresses in these verses is the fear of rejection we can face in ministry.  “’Whatever house you enter, first say ‘Peace be to this house!’ And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him.  But if not, it will return to you.’”  (Luke 10:6).  We should expect opposition ad rejection in ministry.  Jesus told us to still be at peace.  There will be people we minister to that will accept the peace that Jesus offers to them through our witness, but there will be many who don’t.  We can have peace even when people revile us knowing that it is not us they are rejecting but the Lord.  “’The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me’” (Luke 10:16).    We are in good company when we are rejected by this world.  Remember the one who bore all of our reproach and shame so we could be accepted by our heavenly Father.

Whatever we are facing in ministry, we can be at peace knowing that Jesus is walking with us and is faithful to do what we cannot.  He will provide all things as we humbly follow wherever He calls us to go.