A TIME TO SERVE: Seasons of Ministry for the Everyday Disciple
Beka Burch
Have you ever thought that the current season of ministry you’re in may not be as “profitable” for the Kingdom as the past season that you had been in before? Or maybe you’re nervous at the thought of what season of ministry lies ahead? Often times we are tripped up by the thought of “seasons” in our lives, when God wants to use these different seasons of ministry for His glory!
Over the last 6 months of my life, I have heard the tender, sweet whisper of God calling me to a new personal season of ministry. And through this beckoning, He has brought comfort and joy in my mind and spirit, knowing that what where I’ve been, where I am, and where I’m going in ministry are all important parts of my story.
I truly believe that God calls each one of us to leave a lasting impact, as He has left on us. Throughout years of our lives, God graces us with different seasons of service, whether it be mission trips, teaching Sunday School, serving our neighbors, supporting our spouses, or discipling our kids. I pray that today you will be encouraged through scripture that we are called to remember the blessings from our past ministries, be content in our current role of ministry, and look forward to the ministry He will set before us.
God brings us through every season with the intention of showing His heart through us.
- REFLECT ON THE SEASONS OF MINISTRY YOU’VE COME OUT OF
Throughout the Bible, we see countless examples of remembering, reflecting, and recalling the goodness of God. One of the greatest examples of this is in Joshua 4:1-9. After the Israelites pass over the Jordan river the Lord instructed Joshua to set up twelve stones of remembrance for the future generations to know that God had been their help. And just as Joshua erected these remembrance stones, we too are called to look back on the things God has done for us in grateful remembrance. There are countless things He has done in and through us that I pray we would remember!
As I remember all of the seasons of ministry I have been a part of, I can choose one of two paths: I can be thankful and ask the Lord to recall to my mind all that He taught me in those seasons OR I can be overwhelmed with despair wishing I was still in those seasons. If I choose to repeatedly dwell on “what was”, I will never be able to intentionally live for “what is now”. So, REMEMBER AND RECALL in a deep and holy reverence what God has shown you in the past seasons. Ask God what it is specifically he taught you there and thank Him for it!
Every season we go through IS a season of ministry, but it’s up to us to see our seasons through a heavenly perspective.
I know that I wouldn’t be where I am today without the instilling of love to sing in kids choir, the heart he gave me for people through my mission travels in high school and college, the burden he instilled in me for youth ministry while working in the school system, and the urgency he placed within me for the unfathered and abused while I ran my business fighting human trafficking. These are all wonderful parts of my story where God used me, taught me, and grew me in Him and my service to His Kingdom.
- RECOGNIZE THE SEASON OF MINISTRY YOU’RE IN
One of the greatest people that we can learn from comes to mind as I focus on this portion of our topic – THE APOSTLE PAUL! In the middle of a filthy prison cell, near the end of his death, we see Paul write a passion-filled letter to Timothy, his son in the faith. Paul penned this beautiful letter in urgency knowing that his time on earth was short. He understood the season of ministry that he was in – one near death. And it drove Him to write with an urgency that impacted Timothy, the early church, and every Christian to this day.
So, I encourage you to ask yourself this question – what current season of ministry are you in? It is important for us to recognize what season we are in so that we can know how to live each day intentionally for the Kingdom of God! Are you in the ministry of motherhood? I pray that you would understand the sense of urgency in training and discipling your children for the gospel in the midst of a secular world. Are you in the ministry of teaching Sunday School? I urge you to remember the importance of the minds and hearts God has given you to help teach and mold.
Moses instructs us in Psalm 90 to “teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” Paul, Moses, and so many other godly men that we look towards recognized the current season of ministry they were in and that caused them to live focused on the current task! They lived each day requesting wisdom from God to know how to currently live for His glory. So, where are you currently? Are you in a season that feels meaningless? Maybe you feel like your nursery rotation doesn’t matter. Maybe you feel like no one sees you constantly changing the lyrics in the sound booth. Maybe you’re in what you think is a great season of ministry, but you feel overwhelmed at the task. Maybe you’re trying to figure out what this season actually even is. Ask God to help you recognize where He has currently placed you and how to use you effectively for His kingdom!
- RECIEVE THE SEASONS OF MINISTRY AHEAD
Did you know that there are beautiful seasons of ministry ahead, if you continue to allow God rule and reign in your life?! God has great plans for His children, as we yield our lives, wills, and resources over to Him! As we look forward, we can ask God to help us identify what tasks he might have for us ahead. This will force us to ask how, by God’s grace, we want to live TODAY in order to live fully in the next season.
If you are currently in a season of doing something “small” and wanting something “more”, ask God these questions – 1) How am I allowing You to help me grow in this current season so I can be prepared for the next? Am I content here while you prepare me? 2) When I get to the next season, how do you want me to help those who were where I was?
If you are looking ahead and are nervous, scared, or unsure of what is ahead, I also want to encourage you. We can look ahead and begin asking the Lord for the grace and strength we will need in our future seasons. Personally, as I look forward to a season of staying at home and homeschooling my children, I am already beginning to ask the Lord for the grace, wisdom, and strength I will need to endure long days of “mundane” tasks. I am asking Him to give me fresh perspective while washing dishes, folding laundry, and teaching to read. These may not be “glamorous ministry tasks” in many peoples’ eyes, but they are beautiful to Him! These will be my acts of worship to Him and my call to take care of my home and disciple my children.
So, in all 3 seasons of ministry (reflecting on the past, recognizing the present, and receiving what is ahead), we must rely on the grace of God! Because in every season, Satan is going to try and sabotage what God is doing, make you feel inadequate, and therefore, make you inactive.
PLEASE REMEMBER – EVERY SEASON IS A SEASON OF MINISTRY! But we have to see it that way.
Ask God to give you a fresh perspective today (with past ministries, with your current ministry, and with what you know is ahead)… He will do more than you could ever imagine if you give it all to Him.
Serving vs Sitting: The Greater Portion – Beka Burch
Have you ever felt busy, yet ineffective in your Christian walk? As though you are constantly looking at a full schedule but not experiencing a full heart? I know we have all felt this way at times, but I pray that in the span of the next 5 minutes (can you read a blog that fast?) that we would be encouraged in knowing that the priority of our Christian life is to sit at the feet of Jesus SO THAT we can be effective followers of Jesus.
In Luke 10: 38-42 we read about two sisters that give us true insight into what I mean….
“Now as they went on their way, Jesus[d] entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary.[e] Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”
As we dive into this story, let’s look at 3 important points of being effective followers of Jesus:
- ONE THING IS NECESSARY AS FOLLOWERS OF JESUS – SITTING AT THE FEET OF JESUS
For a woman to sit at the feet of Jesus was a BIG deal back in the times of the New Testament. Normally, women were not allowed to sit at the feet of a rabbi. So for Jesus to be pleased with Mary learning of him in this way was huge. He is showing us that everyone can come to his feet and sit there to learn of him and love him. And not only that, but that it is NECESSARY to be a follower of Jesus.
Jesus told Martha that the one thing they needed was to SIT and LEARN OF HIM. He was the right choice, the greater portion. When seeing what Mary did, I am reminded of so many scriptures that discuss the Lord being our deepest desire, our greater portion. Psalm 16:5 says “The Lord is my portion and cup” and Psalm 27:4 furthers this thought: “One thing have I desired of the LORD, that I will seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in His temple.”
Think of it in this way — Have you ever been to a water park that had a refillable bucket that dumped every few minutes? When you sit under it for a while and wait, you get submerged with the water (and tons of it)! Now picture yourself holding a bucket. If you were to run around the water park trying to catch a drop here and catch a drop there, you would never actually fill up your bucket. You would get tired hopping from spot to spot and lose some as you tirelessly run. Your life is like that bucket. Instead of running, trying to fill our spiritual selves up by “doing all the things,” we must sit and wait on the Lord to fill us.
- WHEN OUR PRIORITIES ARE MIXED UP, WE DON’T PARTAKE IN THE GREATER PORTION
In the story, Martha was clearly anxious about many things – pleasing Jesus, serving Him the best food and drink, taking care of His physical needs, and worrying about why Mary wasn’t helping her. She was frustrated and upset, and Jesus could see that.
In the same way, we can easily become anxious, troubled, critical of others, and can MISS intimacy with Jesus, just like Martha did.
Have you ever hosted a party and you felt too busy to even enjoy it? You are running around making sure the coffee pot is brewing, the food isn’t running out, the napkins are all in place, the people seem happy, their drinks are refilled, etc. In the moment, you feel in control and like the whole party depends on you, but then when the party is over and everyone is gone, you sit back in REGRET. You wished you would have spent more time sitting with those who you invited over to your house. But now the time is gone.
This is what Martha was doing. Jesus could see the anxiety and troubles all over her face and body language as I can imagine her running from the kitchen to the living room, tending to people’s needs and missing the whole point of Jesus’ presence.
I have been in this place many times. And God has shown me to ask myself some questions to evaluate my heart and my choices. So, here they are: Where do you find yourself when you are wanting to please God? Is it task upon task? Because if it is, that is a pretty good indicator that our priorities in pleasing Jesus are mixed up…
Or is it purely waking up in the morning and sitting in his presence, opening up his word, talking to him through the day, etc. This is the greater portion!
- SPIRITUAL SERVICE DOES NOT ALWAYS LEAD TO SPIRITUAL INTIMACY
BUT! Spiritual intimacy will ALWAYS lead to spiritual service.
Mary sat at the feet of Jesus and gained the strength she would need to move forward in any task she went forth to do. Martha busied herself with tasks, ran out of energy, and got frustrated. By her countenance, you could see her lack of maturity in trusting who Jesus was and allowing him to work in her life.
We have to realize that we must go where Mary went, to do what Martha did.
Mary’s approach to Jesus was to sit and learn from His feet and to dwell in his presence. We know that out of this approach we will gain a love and knowledge of who he is and in turn, be more like Him. With that conformity of discipleship, we will most certainly serve Jesus and his people.
Martha’s approach was first to the busyness of life and the checklist of spiritual tasks. But with that order, we will be too exhausted to sit at the feet of Jesus when all the tasks have been completed. I pray that we do not expend our energy out of turn, but trust in God to keep us at His feet.
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I pray that after reading a narrative like Mary and Martha’s, we would see the urgency of spending time at the feet of Jesus, not only to learn more of Him and be conformed to His image, but to truly live an effective life as one of His followers.
Evaluate your heart before Jesus as a follower. Are you doing the one thing that Jesus deemed absolutely necessary? Or are you running around “in His name,” but leaving completely frustrated and exhausted?
I pray that we would all choose the greater portion – sitting – so that we can be effective and joyful in serving.
YOU HAVE PUT MORE JOY IN MY HEART – Beka Burch
JOY – Oh! What a wonderful thing it is! It is a gladness of heart and a happiness from God that cannot be taken away by the circumstances of life…
So, in Psalm 4:7, when we see David proclaim “You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their wine and grain abound” it should bring us to a place of overwhelming worship!
Have you ever been in a situation that looked bleak? Maybe you’ve been in a circumstance that looked hopeless or fruitless… I can guarantee you that David surely walked through something very similar to all of us. I mean, this spiritual giant walked through trial after trial…
He wasn’t invited to the anointing when all of his other brothers were, he was told to watch the sheep when we all know that he probably should have been the first one on the front line, he was hunted down like an animal by Saul, his throne was constantly challenged, his own son turned against him… CAN YOU IMAGINE?!
From an outside perspective, we could easily ask the question, “What did David have to be joyful about?” But if we ask that, David would tell us that we don’t really know whom he faithfully served.
Maybe you are walking through a situation like David that has caused you to really stop, ponder God, and question what he is doing.
But in the middle of his prayer, David says that his joy far exceeds those in the world, even when their wine & grain increase.
Simply put, David knew that even in the high moments of life, his joy wasn’t based on how amazing his pile of resources and wealth appeared. His joy far exceeded the seemingly hopeful circunstancial moments of life because he communed with the JOY-GIVER! And in the low moments of life, He relied on that same, all-powerful, all-knowing God that supplied his every need before.
He wasn’t jumping around, skipping and shouting “hip hop hooray! Saul is chasing me down today! What a glorious day! Absalom wants my throne!” That would be silly.
But in the hardest of moments — the dark caves and the end of the spear — David could, with full assurance of faith, proclaim the gladness of heart that lived inside of him because he trusted in the joy-giver, God himself.
And in many of the Psalms we see David pour his heart and worship out as an offering and sacrifice to God.
So, when the circumstances around us look hopeless or the trial we are walking through doesn’t seem to end, in faith we can remember his goodness, hope, and life he brings — which will cause us to have an unexplainable joy that the world could never possess.
And when the world is living it up, building their wealth and gleaning in the light of a mountain top of fame, wealth and fortune, we can, with confidence, declare that His joy is far better.
We commune with the joy-giver Himself.
And what could be more joyful than that?
“A LOVE LIKE NO OTHER”
I remember it like it was yesterday.
As the clock struck midnight, I ran and threw my head into my pillow & screamed. It seemed to be the new norm. Once again, I found myself in the middle of a heartache caused by “him.” You know the one. The one who said he “loved you,” then threw you out like day-old bread. This time, it was Valentine’s day… And he told me he wanted to break up. Yep…. On the day of “love.” I was broken & in pain… And frankly, I didn’t know where else to turn… I felt alone, unloved & hopeless.
And then, I experienced a LOVE LIKE NO OTHER.
Growing up in church my entire life, I knew about the “love” that God offered me, and I saw it through other people, yet I never truly tasted it for myself. But, in this place of newfound desperation, I heard God call my name & tell me of his unfailing love for me. And I couldn’t say no this time. I didn’t have anywhere else to turn… So I opened my heart to God’s love and because of it I will never be the same.
So… What is God’s love all about?
Well, let’s start here… Did you know that God created you? And that you are made in His image? Yep, you are made to reflect God to this world & have dominion over all living things. However, we as humans messed that up when we disobeyed God in the garden of Eden & our fellowship with God was ruined. Because we now all have a nature of sin, we have no means to have fellowship with the Holy God & we all deserve death. But here’s the beautiful thing! Even after we sinned & ruined God’s desires for us, God formed a plan of redemption. In the beginning of the Bible, God promised One that would come & defeat evil & restore our relationship with Him forever. That one was JESUS CHRIST! After thousands of years of men trying to please God & sacrifice all for Him (but failing), God had to come to earth as a man & enter the plan of redemption Himself – for our sins could only be taken away by a spotless, sinless man. So, 2,000 years ago, “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life” – John 3:16. And that’s a LOVE LIKE NO OTHER…. A God so loving that He would give His only son so that WE, his beloved creation, might know Him, have relationship with Him, and live forever together….free from SIN & EVIL.
It’s really that simple. We messed up & we deserved death. But, God, the Creator of the universe, loves us too much to leave us in a pit of despair. So he MADE A WAY. He now gives ALL MEN the choice of life…The choice to repent of our sins, believe on His name, turn away from the world & radically live as His disciples. And It’s a LIFE like no other. Its abundant, exciting, liberating & passionate! I no longer am crying on my pillow at night wondering where I can find an unfailing love! I am rejoicing that I have a relationship with LOVE HIMSELF & that my name Is written in Heaven.
HE IS UNFAILING LOVE.
Won’t you call upon Him today & receive his grace by faith? He desires to pour His everlasting love on you, call you His & rescue you from your sin.
Through His LOVE & GRACE I will never be the same. Will you be?
Beka Burch