Keeping Serving When the Going Gets Tough

Have you ever been serving God and run into difficulties or opposition? It is very tempting to move to ministering somewhere else when those things happen, but read what Alistair Begg says:

‘When one is effectively involved in serving God there will be opposition, persecution and trials. Consequently there is no ideal place to serve God anywhere in the world except the place in which He set you down…

How many of God’s servants have been bumped off course as a result of their failure to maintain the compass point set by God, as soon as disappointment comes, as soon as difficulties confront, in the onset of opposition. 

 And I tell you, many, many, many. Believe me, the short tenure of most pastoral ministries in the Western world are directly related to this temptation.’ 
These quotes are taken from Alistair Begg in his recent sermon, ‘The Making of a Man of God’ based on the ministry of Amos. 

I used to think, when my husband was still a youth pastor, that it would be really hard to be a pastor or pastor’s wife because so many people leave the church, fall into sin, get mad at you etc. But now that I am a pastor’s wife it has not been as bad as I expected, mainly because God has taught me a great thing to hold on to.

When these things happen and it feels like we’d be better going somewhere else, I remember and say this one thing – ‘God has called us here, so we need to stick to doing what He’s called us to do no matter what else is going on.’

It is a great help to remember that because otherwise you can look at a church dwindling and feel like leaving, or you can look at criticism and feel like they are right, or look at the lack of visible fruit and feel like giving up.

If you are a Christian blogger I think it is much the same – if God has called you to do it then you should keep going regardless of criticism or low readership or feeling like you have nothing of value to say.

Like Peter and Paul said when they were arrested and told to stop preaching, ‘We must obey God rather than men.’ Act 5:28.

 So whatever ministry you are doing, don’t let opposition, or criticism, or misrepresentation, or lack of fruit put you off if God has called you to it!

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