After several frustrating weeks of organizing people and
working with leaders and changing things in the ministry I am kind of in charge
of I was ready to give up. I started wondering the same thing the other leaders
were asking: “why aren’t we seeing results”. Of course it’s not about the results;
it’s about loving the kids and pointing them toward God, and sometimes we never
will get to see the results. Still, all this work, all the frustrating hours I
prayed over and cried for and worked at this ministry and sometimes I wondered
whether it was really worth it.
It’s crazy how God does the most unexpected things at the
most unexpected times. Today one of the kids at my PCM accepted Christ. It
happened right after we were going over the Christmas skit the kids are going
to do next week. I don’t know what happened or why today, but God moved and the
kid answered. One of the leaders explained it to him, then we prayed for him,
then he repeated the sinner’s prayer. After we were done praying he stood up a
little straighter, stuck his chest out and said, “I feel different, and….taller.”
That is the power of the Holy Spirit. Moving in a kid’s heart and taking the
burdens off a kid’s back and carrying them for Him. His power is crazy. The way
he works is incredible. It didn’t hit me until later the incredible effect and
implications of what God has done and how it’s gonna affect this kid. Dude, it’s
dope! (as my kids would say, meaning incredible or crazy or amazing). This kid now
has the power of the Holy Spirit inside of him, he now has a relationship with
God, he now has hope, and can have peace and joy. This kid is gonna live
eternally in heaven with the all-powerful God! And so do I! That puts things in
perspective. There is nothing like being there while a kid accepts Christ. It
is one of the best experiences. It’s a good reminder of what God has done in my
life, for me, and how I should respond to His love. God works in crazy ways.
This week one kid couldn’t come to church because he was in
the hospital because of suicidal thoughts/ threats. This is another kid that I have
been working with for 2 years. Satan and his demons are working as well, thank
God they weren’t as successful.
Last week was basically the final straw for me. Last week
one of my kids from PCM couldn’t come to church because he got caught smoking.
The next day when I saw him at his school (that I volunteer at), he couldn’t
even look at me. This is a kid that faithfully comes to our Thursday night
church and I have been building a relationship with him for 2 years. Then this
week I show up and find out one of my boys is in the hospital.
Then God moved and a kid named Charles accepted Christ in
the midst of the confusion and craziness of a typical Thursday
night church service at this place.
One kid is saved and gonna have eternal life, another one
wants to die and would suffer eternity in hell. It doesn’t make sense, but it’s
reality. This is the world I live in. This is the reality of the ministry I am
a part of. It’s incredible and amazing and hard and heartbreaking.
The good news is although Satan is powerful and he is
working especially and prevalently in the mind of these kids, so is God. The
difference is, God is more powerful, and actually successful, while Satan and
demons don’t have as much power or success. I am so thankful that God is in
charge and is ruler of the earth. Imagine what life would be like if he weren’t.
Imagine what life would look like if Satan ruled the earth.
What’s weird is during the end times, Satan will rule the
earth for a few years (Check out Revelation, it’s kinda scary). Thankfully in
the end God (as usual) will be victorious. God is always victorious. In every
battle, now and forever, God always wins.
Things I needed to be reminded of:
- God is working, even when I don’t see it, and even when everything seems to be going wrong.
- God is so powerful, far more powerful then Satan.
- God is always victorious in the end.
- God has a plan.
- God uses the hardest times to teach us the most important things.
This leads me to one of my favorite and yet rather
frustrating Bible verses :Gal 6:6-10.
Go. Read it.
I’m serious.
Pay particular attention to verse 9:
“And let us not grow weary of doing good,
for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”
Dude it’s so easy to give up when things
get hard, or when all your hard work for God seems to be of no avail, or when
you get 20 emails in 1 day about everything that is wrong in your ministry, or
when 1 of your kids tries to commit suicide, or when your staff doesn’t respect
you because you are young. In the end, what really matters is whether or not
you are doing this for God. In the end, God is going to be victorious, whether
you were serving him or not. If you don’t give up or quit serving him, 2 things
will happen. First and foremost, you will bring God glory. Second, you will be
rewarded for your faithfulness if not on this earth, then in heaven.
So press on my friends. I promise it’s
worth it.
